


We Are a Fever

by dark0feenix



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anal Sex, Barebacking, Biting, Bloodplay, Blow Jobs, Canon-Typical Violence, Consensual Blood Drinking, Dirty Talk, Drug Use, Dubious Consent, Fights, M/M, Masturbation, Power Play, Rough Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-12
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:15:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 25,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24147256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dark0feenix/pseuds/dark0feenix
Summary: Jeremy is up to no good as usual but with Tyler he has bitten off more than he can chew.
Relationships: Jeremy Gilbert/Tyler Lockwood
Comments: 16
Kudos: 53





	1. Jeremy

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is canon-compliant only roughly up to seasons 4 or 5. I've deliberately left it unclear at which point it veers off from the actual show and whether for instance the Other Side has already collapsed or not. So it's a mixture of the first half of all the seasons and then an AU after that. Basically, it's a PWP with lots of angst and feels. The guys are in their mid- or late 20s. Please mind the tags. 
> 
> A huge thank you to my beta, Yurama, for all the excellent advice! Any remaining mistakes are mine. 
> 
> The title comes from the song 'U.R.A. Fever' by The Kills. It's because this awesome fanvid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeXloBikHkA will always remind me of Jyler.

You gotta love the supernatural clusterfuck that's my life: not one but two dead vampire ex-girlfriends, check. A witch ex-girlfriend, previously dead, now alive, check. A doppelgänger vampire sister slash cousin, check. Dead parents, well that goes without saying, check. An aunt turned into a vampire then a ritual sacrifice, check. An immortal guardian turned into a murderous madman then killed, check. A part-time immortal uncle dying while sacrificing his soul in a ritual, check. And hey, let's not forget I've died and come back to life not once, not twice, but five times myself but who's counting? 

That's what living in your friendly little neighborhood full of magic, prophecies and curses, where vampires, werewolves, hybrids, originals, and witches run rampant does for you. Murder and mayhem. You gotta admit, it would mess up even the best of us, so if you still wonder how I turned up like this, wonder no more. My name is Jeremy Gilbert and I went through hell and back to get as far away from here as humanly possible, pun intended, and yet, here I am, on a dull Thursday night, hoping to revisit some old acquaintances on business. 

The Grill hasn't lost any of its appeal, which is easy since it never had any to begin with. While I'm sitting at the corner booth, contemplating my next move, the answer walks right in through the fucking doors. Tyler Lockwood, the resident hybrid with his crew of dick friends that is. What a small world we live in.

"Yo, Lockwood!"

Tyler's head snaps in my direction and his eyes zero in on me in a heartbeat. I can't say whether he's glad to see me or not. Surprised, I'm sure, but he covers it well. The thing is, it pays not to let your guard down around here, even for a moment. Slip up and you might pay for it with your life. He and I have both learned that the hard way. 

Tyler makes a decision, nods and heads my way, abandoning the buddies he entered the bar with. There's grace and poorly hidden power in his movements. The first ever created hybrid. He's a jock, so he's always got the physical part down but now it looks like he's finally grown into himself and quite possibly learned a few new tricks along the way. But that's all right, so have I.

"Gilbert." 

He looks alert but not overtly so. The 'what brings you back?' is clearly on the tip of his tongue, I can tell. I let him sweat a few moments more. 

Finally, he cracks. "Haven't seen you in a while."

Well, that's an understatement if there ever was one. It's not like we ever kept tabs on each other, even when we were on somewhat friendlier terms. Such a lost cause. Anyway, I play the part that is expected of me. I give a short laugh, more on the shy side, a reminder of the long lost teenage awkwardness he can still recognize. Though to be honest, I can't remember a time there was any awkwardness in me. Maybe that was just one more thing I was compelled to forget. Thanks, sis. 

"Yeah, you could say that. It has certainly been a while."

I lower my eyes a bit and look at him under my lashes. I've been told any girl should be so lucky to have them like mine. It usually works on a surprisingly varied bunch of people. Tyler doesn't seem to catch on, so either he's just too thick or too far on the other side of the Kinsey scale. Not a full obstacle but a minor hindrance then. I can work with that. I flash a small smile and crinkle my eyes just so.

Tyler glances around like he's looking for something. "Are you here with someone? Visiting family perhaps?"

The snort just escapes me, I can't help it. "Family? Hardly. As if there was any family left in a town like this."

Tyler grins and laughs too, a little embarrassed but with genuine humor at his own expense. "Okay, you've got a point, Gilbert."

It's such a small thing yet it makes a difference. A minuscule change in the atmosphere and Tyler relaxes his stance. "Look, I came here with some friends for a few beers. You're welcome to join us if you like."

I look over at the group of four guys, all dressed up smart-casual, crowding the bar in a happy, boisterous mood but not yet drunk enough to make any serious ruckus. They don't necessarily look like werewolves but looks can be deceiving. That's also something I've learned the hard way. Tyler may have grown into his skin nicely but he doesn't really strike the kind of guy with a pack of his own, not to mention, a pack of hybrids of his own. Still. 

I make a show of seemingly weighing my options and end up shaking my head. "Nah, I'm cool. I'll let you guys enjoy the beers and do your thing. But thanks for asking, man."

Tyler hesitates but lets it go. "Okay, if you're sure. But if you change your mind, you know where to find us."

I lift up the beer I've been nursing since I got here and still haven't touched. "Will do."

"Cool." Tyler takes a few steps back, clearly trying to end the non-conversation with someone he hasn't seen since high school ended and probably hasn't even thought about for the whole time either. Someone who doesn't belong in the friend nor the enemy category. I like to see him squirm. "Well, my friends are waiting for me, so... It was good catching up with you, man." 

This time my control is back and there's no reaction to that inane comment on all that catching up we most certainly didn't do. 

Tyler lifts a hand for goodbye. "See you around."

"Sure, you too." I wait for a few heartbeats until Tyler has taken a couple of steps towards his friends and call after his retreating back. "Oh, Tyler, wait."

Tyler turns and I do my best to look the picture of hesitant innocence. As if any part of me had any innocence left. I wave Tyler closer. He obeys but looks more weary again, perhaps a bit irritated, like there's only so much faux-friendliness he can project for one night.

"What is it?"

I glance quickly left and right as if to make sure nobody is listening in on us. "Actually, I kind of need some help and you just might be able to help me."

Tyler frowns. "What do you mean?"

"I can't tell you here, it's too crowded." I wish my drama teacher could see me now, worry seeping underneath my supposed calm, like I was in a desperate need to trust someone but not sure who to turn to.

Tyler acts more irritated, casting a look over his shoulder to make sure we really aren't being spied on. So, no werewolf friends then. 

"Look, man, I'm sorry but I don't think I can help you. I kind of try to avoid all that stuff now. It's not my scene anymore."

Should I go for flattery or curiosity? The puppy dog impression doesn't work at my age anymore. Hard choices. Perhaps curiosity. 

"Well," I lean closer, lowering my voice still in a conspiratorial manner, "I made a promise I wouldn't tell anyone but I'm kind of in over my head right now and I could really use some help."

Tyler frowns but doesn't take the bait. "I really don't think I'm the right guy for that if it's about any of the old shit. I mean it when I say I'm not involved with anything like that anymore." He has a serious look in his eyes as he contemplates me. Finally, he sighs. "You need to give me something at least. Is someone after you?"

I shake my head. "No, nothing like that. It's—" I rake a hand across my hair, trying to channel some of my growing frustration into the performance. "I heard a rumor about Caroline, and I thought—"

"Caroline?" 

Tyler's angry confusion doesn't bode well. I'm usually better at this on the first try but something's getting to me. Maybe it's this place, being back here after so many years. Or maybe I just didn't do my homework for this one, putting too much faith in our shared history. So, no love for the ex. Flattery then.

"You know what, Tyler, never mind." I stand up in a sudden move as if to emphasize my frustration. I snatch my jacket and my small backpack from the chair and when I look at Tyler I let some of the ever-burning fire inside me show briefly in my eyes. "When I saw you tonight, I remembered how you always helped us and how well we worked together,"—that's seriously reaching—"and since you were the first ever surviving hybrid and you managed it so well—"

That part makes Tyler raise his eyebrows for an obvious sign of disbelief but I ignore him and bulldoze on.

"—I mean considering how it all turned out all right in the end, and so—"

"Dude," Tyler interrupts, extending a hand to stop me. "First of all, there was nothing about any of it that went well. And secondly, when have we ever worked well together?"

What he says is the naked truth but I pretend to disagree. "Whatever, man. Just forget I said anything. Go back to your fucking friends and forget you ever saw me." I leave the Grill in a dramatic little huff, vaguely in the manner of my rebellious teenage years, not waiting for Tyler's response.

Now, there's always a chance I get it wrong. Especially when I first started doing this, when I was still a wet-eared rookie, it could go either way. But now it barely ever happens. I'm tempted to count down the seconds as I keep walking further away from the bar, and sure enough, as I reach the end of the street, I hear someone running after me. 

"Hey! Jeremy, wait up!"

It's a real challenge to keep the victorious glee from my face and maintain the wounded expression from before but somehow I manage. I stop and turn to look at Tyler, who's caught up with me and is not even slightly out of breath. 

"What?" I make it sound both accusatory and defeated at the same time. For someone who hasn't seen me in years, it probably reminds them of my emo teenage self. 

Tyler rolls his eyes. "Okay, I'll help you. What do you need me for?"

I let out a sigh, making a show of still being offended but not having a choice in the end. "Fine. But I need to be able to count on you. If you can't keep a secret, I'm screwed."

"I said I'd help. Can't you tell me what it's about?"

I look around us assessing the situation. "Okay. But not here. Is there a place where we could have some privacy?"

Tyler thinks for a second. "Well, I guess, we could always go to mine, if you don't mind the drive."

"The Lockwood Mansion?"

Tyler snorts. "Where else? Come on, we're wasting time. The sooner we get this over with the sooner I can get back to my friends."

"Are you sure they'll survive without your glorious company?" I resort to teasing, supposedly relieved he's agreed to help me. As if there ever was any serious doubt of the outcome.

Tyler shakes his head and flips me the finger while heading for his car. "Fuck you, Gilbert!" But it's said without any heat.

We don't talk much during the ride. There isn't really anything to say. Like I said before, we aren't that close, never were. I don't care about the passing scenery either, it's not like I want the grand tour. There's nothing left for me here except the current mission, and that's the only reason for my visit. I can't wait to get the fuck out of here, leave this god forsaken small town behind me and never look back.

When we get to Tyler's house, he hurries up the stairs and pulls the key from his pocket to open the door. He opens it with a flourish, stepping aside and inviting me in. "After you."

"I'm not the vampire here, but thanks," I say with a laugh, relaxing and getting started on the intended mood change now that we're right where I wanted us to be. Sure, any hotel room or men's room, or hell, even a car in a tight spot would have done it but the Lockwood Mansion is my preferred option. Secluded location means plenty of privacy and no fear of anyone coming to bother us. I take a look around the foyer, noticing how everything is just the way it was before and think about how I want this to go. 

Just as Tyler closes the door and before he gets a chance to start asking any questions, I say, "I don't know about you but I could sure use a drink right now."

Tyler just looks at me for a moment, then blinks and gives in. "Sure, I'll go fix us something. You remember where the study is, right? Go ahead and I'll catch up with you."

For a brief moment, I wish it was anyone else but Tyler. Not because I had any feelings for him, friendly or otherwise, but it would be easier with a complete stranger. Someone who'd have no idea of who I am or who I was. With no expectations of me. I do love a good challenge; it's just that with Tyler, it's like a never-ending uphill climb while trying to drag a heavy carriage with me. I need to convince him again and again since he's constantly on his guard—which is clever—and doesn't really trust me at all. Then again, who could blame him? 

Still, I have a job to do here. I take the stairs two at a time to get a head start but instead of the study, I choose a comfortable looking living room. I lower my backpack on the floor next to the couch while simultaneously producing the vial from my jacket pocket. The liquid looks still delightfully purple, like a second grade party drug. I unscrew the cap and swallow it in one go. The taste is indescribably vile but I've had a lot of practice with it over the years.

Now, there are several ways to go about this. Though I'm really good at what I do, I can't take on a fully grown male hybrid at the height of its powers if the said hybrid is alert. Even I'm not that suicidal. I guess I could always just set up a strong enough trap to capture one, but the torture route loses its shine real quick. It's always so messy. No, what I need is a good distraction. The seduction tactic is way more convenient to handle things, though it does create its own challenges. Tyler's not gay. If he were, my job would be a whole lot simpler. I have no doubts I could do a number on him. I have yet to meet a red-blooded creature, alive or undead, who I can't win over when given enough time. If only the pimply and pathetic stoner me at Mystic Falls High had known that when he was still crying after Vicky. Shy, confident, cocky—I can do it all. 

But yeah, the not-gay and the time limit here create the need to resort to actual chemistry. There are few hard to come by substances strong enough to knock out a hybrid for sure, but somehow it has always felt a bit too rape drug-y to me, something beneath my morals. The thought nearly makes me laugh out loud but yeah, even I have some limits on how low I'm willing to go. If I use it on myself, on the other hand, that's fair game. The pheromones I'm transmitting will drive anyone even remotely affected by animal instincts wild while they still get to be conscious enough to make their own decisions. Tyler will just be more pliant to my persuasions. And I can be _very_ persuasive. 

I get rid of my jacket and plop down on the sofa just in time to the sound of someone approaching. In a lightning quick move that would make any supernatural creature proud, I grab a little something from my bag and hide it under the cushions. I lean back into the comfortable throw pillows and turn towards the door just as Tyler enters, holding two glasses of scotch. 

He doesn't look too happy to see me going against his wishes. "I thought I told you to go wait for me in the study."

I flash an apologetic smile. "Yeah, sorry about that. When I passed the room the sofa just looked so inviting." I extend my hand for the glass. Tyler frowns but has no other option but to let go of the other glass and come sit down next to me. 

"Okay, we're here now, there's nobody within hearing distance, so spill it."

"Sure, in a second. But first you need to tell me if there's been any suspicious activity going on here lately?"

"Suspicious like how? You gotta be more specific than that."

I swirl the amber liquid in the glass, watching the ice cubes slosh and clink against each other and feeling the warm tell-tale tingle on my skin, my body hair standing on end while the concoction I swallowed just a few minutes before is starting to take effect. Soon the pheromones pouring out of my body will permeate every single inch of the room and probably half the house. I didn't want to take any chances so I took double the usual amount.

I raise the glass to my lips and take a sip, savoring the strong quality—no second best for the Lockwoods—and swallow it with relish. "Well, let's just put it this way. There's a new hunter in town killing vampires left and right with werewolf poison. And as you know my family issues, the subject is rather personal to me."

My bold and careless attitude clashes with the actual seriousness of what I'm saying, sending a mixed message, so it takes Tyler a second or two longer to process the information and try to figure out why I don't sound half as concerned as I did back at the Grill, considering my own sister is a vampire. He opens his mouth to speak then gets a whiff and can't help but breathe it in. I can see the exact moment it hits him, know the effects down to a tee. His nostrils flair just a fraction, the pheromones spreading their magic, causing inevitable physical reactions without Tyler's brain having a chance to catch up. His pupils dilate and he moves on the sofa, sitting more forward and opening his legs wider, getting restless without knowing why. A nanosecond from now and he will start getting hard.

I take all this in before Tyler has even begun to register himself what's happening. I change the innocent smile on my face to something a little more devious. "So, Tyler, have you or any of your hybrid buddies heard about it?"

Tyler blinks and swallows. He closes his legs back a bit, looks away and shakes his head as if trying to clear it and get himself back in control. He swipes his free hand against his thigh, no doubt trying to get his elevated heartbeat and libido to calm down. "I—I don't—I haven't—"

I take another swallow of the drink, hiding my smirk. God, he's making this easy for me. Tyler shakes his head again but I could tell it's no use. The more he tries to fight the urges the more he inhales my irresistible smell. I bet if I ignored him long enough he'd start humping the throw pillows in front of me. Well, lucky for him, I'm in a generous mood tonight so I just might finish what I started.

"Hey, are you all right? You don't look so good." To fasten the process I reach out and touch his thigh. Tyler practically jumps, he's so wired up. I can feel the way he's tense underneath the slacks, the rare mixture of werewolf and vampire blood coursing through his veins, racing towards his cock. Me getting handsy with him will not help him at all, quite the opposite in fact. I slide my hand inappropriately close to his groin and give him a lingering squeeze. Tyler shivers, and you don't need enhanced senses to hear his sharp intake of breath. "Like seriously, man, you seem really tense. Loosen up a little, will you?"

I withdraw my hand, and you can almost see Tyler's body leaning in towards me, chasing that touch. His breathing sounds a little labored. I pretend not to notice and put on a little show of leaning once more against the pillows and finish my drink like they do in a cheap soda commercial, tilting my head back and revealing my neck. I swallow and let a few drops spill from my lips, feeling them run down the long line of my throat. 

My eyes are closed as I lick my lower lip and let out a satisfied groan. "Oh man, I can't remember the last time I tasted something this good." And to make it even cheesier, I chase down the few escaped drops with my fingers and lick them clean, eyes still closed as if in ecstasy. If Tyler wasn't so affected by the pheromones, this would be the moment he'd throw me bodily out of the house.

But he is affected and very much so. When I open my eyes and turn to look at him, he seems downright feral. His eyes are blacker than ever, the supernatural yellow seeping through. He's clenching the hapless sofa cushions, knuckles white and claws out ready to tear them to shreds, and he's breathing like he just ran a marathon. 

"What," he practically growls, "did you do to me?"

It took him a while to notice but he's too far gone now to ignore it. We're nearing the finishing line. Time to go for the kill, metaphorically speaking. "Is it just me or is it hot in here?"

Without waiting for Tyler's reply, I grasp the hem of my shirt and pull it off of me, leaving my chest bare. There's a loud ripping sound which must come from the now ravaged sofa. Bye-bye, cushions. I could always have torn my shirt apart for the show, sending the buttons flying every which way, but that would probably have caused Tyler to jump me. And this way works just as well. I have gained some muscle on me since my high school years, I know what I look like. There are quite a few scars covering my body but they are not all that pronounced to be a turn-off. The most impressive feature is the black ink twisting and turning throughout my whole body, excluding my head and a toe or two. Too bad it's not visible to most people out there. 

I stand up and take the half-step to hover over Tyler who looks like he's losing his mind. I palm my cock through my jeans and squeeze it right next to Tyler's face. Surprise, surprise, I'm hard, too. So what if I get off on this, cornering hybrids and weres alike? Sue me.

"You want a piece of this? You gotta earn it. Help me help you."

Tyler's face is only a few inches away from my erection and he can't get his eyes off of the hard line clearly visible through the denim. His mouth is slightly open to get a deeper sense of the smell, his fangs are dropped and there's actual drool dribbling down his chin.

"So, what do you say? My offer sound good to you?"

As soon as my hand touches his face he pounces on me. We make a spectacular crash to the floor. Luckily, I am prepared for it so I manage to avoid the glass coffee table by an inch and not crack my skull open on the corner but it's a close thing. Tyler's gone all animal on me, licking and sucking and biting my neck like there's no tomorrow. In no time at all his fangs penetrate my skin. There's a loud hiss and he backs off, spitting and gagging. What can I say, my blood is practically vervain at this point.

When Tyler's calmed down a bit, I grasp him by the hair and yank his head towards me, flashing a savage smile of my own. "One rule: no biting." 

Tyler reveals his sharp teeth and growls at me but I've seen way worse, like way, way worse, so he's not even half as scary as he thinks he is. And I've had enough of the posturing. I surge up to meet him and shut him up with a rough kiss. It's just this side of aggressive, which is exactly the way I prefer it. It's a brief battle but I manage to distract him enough to get him to focus back on what we are actually doing here. Before he can fully get back on track, I pull one of my well-practiced moves and roll us around, getting on top. Tyler looks surprised for a split second then rolls us again to complete the circle, getting back on top of me. So, an obvious alpha male syndrome but also little experience of matching partners who can more than manhandle him. I can certainly work with that since I have a few aces up my figurative sleeve. Tyler won't know what hit him.

He resumes sucking and licking at my throat and dry humping my leg. Not advanced enough for where I want him to be, so I need to make a move and this time more than just test it. "Hey, Tyler, this is all good fun but we ain't getting nowhere like this. Let's lose the slacks first!"

Tyler lifts his head to look at me but his capacity to process any verbal information seems to have disappeared. 

"The slacks, Ty, take them off!"

Finally he gets with the agenda, takes one look at my legs and the next moment he rips my jeans in half while they are still on me. "Ow, fuck!" Okay, that was my bad. I actually meant _his_ pants but I guess this works, too. The thing is, I don't have an extra pair with me in my backpack, so the walk of shame will be quite something. Hopefully the people in the neighborhood are heavy sleepers. Before I get to protest though, he catches the waistband of my boxer shorts between his teeth and rips them away, too. I didn't think I could get any harder, but seems like I was wrong. Did I mention I like some pain with my sex? I get no time to recover from what's happening when Tyler takes my cock into his mouth and starts sucking like he was born to do it. I may scream a little. A good thing about living in a mansion with no neighbors in close range. 

I may have made a mistake for not anticipating this, for not realizing that maybe I should have had some sex before coming here. It's been way too long since I last had sex this good and it might seriously cause my downfall since I'm rapidly losing my power of staying on top of the game. 

Tyler's mouth is hot like hell and the way he manages to take me almost all the way down his throat should be illegal. There's no way anyone can deep throat like that without having had some serious practice. "Oh fuck yeah, just like that!" 

Tyler's tongue is so agile and the way he runs it relentlessly up and down the underside of my cock, following the line of the big vein there, is seriously starting to affect my ability to think. It feels like my brains are leaking through my ears. I know I won't last long like this; it's a matter of minutes at best. 

"Wait, wait, Tyler!"

It takes a few long licks for Tyler to stop and let go of my straining, red dick. There's saliva connecting his open mouth to the head and for a moment I forget what I was supposed to do. I can't help myself; I touch Tyler's lips with my thumb, spreading the saliva to his lips and push my thumb inside Tyler's waiting mouth between those full, pink lips. For a second Tyler just lets it happen, then looking straight at me drops his fangs in a slow, controlled way, sucking my thumb into that sinful mouth of his and letting some of the bright supernatural mixture of red, yellow and gold bleed into his eyes. I swallow hard, feeling my cock pulsing painfully between my legs all neglected and I regret I can't finish this. I'm rapidly losing time as it is. Tyler's very much into this, more than I could have anticipated, but the way he's showing off proves he's getting more aware of what's happening, he's not so controlled by his urges anymore. If I want to do what I came here to do, it's now or never. 

I pull my wet thumb back from Tyler's mouth and feel a twinge somewhere deep in my stomach. When this is over I really need to get properly laid.

I let out a little laugh and say, "There's lube in my bag."

Tyler smirks and looks dangerously close to sobering up. He leans in and kisses me slowly. I touch his sides tentatively, almost like a caress, and pull off his shirt over his head. Then he kisses me some more before turning away and grabbing my backpack off the floor. 

I follow after him and slide my hand along his back, genuinely admiring the sleek muscles and all that explosive power underneath. I don't question my skills but I have an actual hybrid against me here which means I can't afford a single wrong move. 

"Where is it? I can't find it."

"Check the front pocket."

Tyler is on all fours, rummaging through my bag and I position myself behind him, pushing my erection against his perfect, inviting ass still covered in those damn slacks. I distract him enough that he momentarily forgets what he's doing and pushes back against me. I sacrifice one thought, a useless wish, for what could have happened here and what I'm going to miss out on and lean down to cover his back, skin on skin. I run my hand along his side, then slide it underneath to pinch a nipple, eliciting a moan from Tyler, and finally finish with my hand on his throat, turning his head to the side. I catch his earlobe between my teeth, bite it roughly, then push my tongue in his ear, blocking his hearing momentarily while reaching beneath the sofa cushions to get my hands around the small, cold syringe.

The same moment Tyler feels the needle penetrate his skin, he's turning around, half dislocating me and snarling in my face only a few precious inches away, sharp claws scratching at my chest. He's too late though. I've managed to inject the poison into his neck and the next second he's collapsed on the floor, momentarily paralyzed. It's a powerful concoction made to knock down a fully grown hybrid. It's my own invention, a trade secret that has yet to fail me. I look down at my bleeding chest and sigh. That might eventually scar. Oh well, it can join the others then, I'll live. I spot Tyler's discarded shirt close by on the floor and carelessly swipe the extra blood away, no time to concentrate on that. Tyler may be immobilized for now but the clock's ticking and I've got places to be and vamps to kill.

"Sorry about the sudden change of plans, old friend, but I try to be as quick as possible."

Tyler looks murderous enough for me to speed things along. He's clearly lost all the amorous feelings he had just a moment ago and is filling up with homicidal rage. I don't blame him. The few times way back when I went on the defensive in my own home made me promise myself to never be in that position again no matter what it took. 

It's my turn to reach for my backpack but instead of the promised lube, I withdraw the two empty syringes I came here to fill.

"This might hurt a little but you know the drill."

I waste no time in finding the right spot in the gums and start to extract the coveted hybrid venom for my own purposes. Tyler is clearly trying his all to get away from the syringe but to no avail. My concoction will keep him utterly still for a few more minutes, unable to move a muscle. A pity though, they really are beautiful muscles. 

"When I told you there was a guy killing the vampires here, I meant myself."

Oh yeah, did I forget to add that to the list? That I'm a vampire hunter? Oops, my bad.

Once the first syringe is full, I seal it carefully and put it in a small box, then take the other one out, getting the rest of it with a steady hand, not minding Tyler's vibrating rage and the wild eyes promising me thousand deaths. He might get his chance one day if he's lucky. I'm really hard to catch unaware though. 

There. The other syringe is full to the brim, too. It's a shame I don't have any more of them with me but this was a bit of a spur of the moment thing. I pack the box away, snatch my backpack from the floor and collect my shirt and jacket to go.

I take one last look at Tyler still lying on the floor, claws out, bare chest scarcely moving, eyes following my every movement. I'm standing buck naked above him. Someone once said I have no shame. They were probably right. I'm not hard anymore but knocking someone out and forcefully extracting their hybrid juice from them tends to do that. I may be damaged in a lot of ways but I'm not a full-blown psycho. Not yet at least.

"Apologies again for all of this. My usual go-to guy to get the venom had his head chopped off last minute so I needed to improvise. Nice of you to volunteer to help me out. But seriously, no need to get up on my account, I'll show myself out. This was nothing personal as I'm sure you understand." At the door, I remember our short exchange at the Grill and have to add, "It was good catching up with you, Tyler. We must do this again sometime."

I exit the room, leaving Tyler there to wordlessly curse after me and walk briskly toward the stairs. I make a short detour into one of the bedrooms along the hallway, checking the closets and snagging the first sweats I lay my eyes on. We're roughly the same size, so any pair will do. I pull them on, then take the stairs three at a time, wondering if borrowing one of Tyler's cars would be overkill. 

There's no warning; I've nearly reached the bottom of the stairs when something big and heavy collides with me and we go crashing to the floor, rolling across the wide entrance hall. This time I do hit my head and I really could do without the awful dizziness I can't shake off for a moment. Tyler recovered faster than your average hybrid but I'm not all that worried. I'm far from overwhelmed and there are still a few aces I can pull if need be.

"You fucking asshole! I'll fucking kill you!"

We roll on the floor and despite Tyler's speed and strength I am more than a match for him now that my head is starting to clear from the initial shock. I may not be a fully supernatural creature myself but I've got enhanced speed and strength, too. 

"Oh yeah? Don't think so."

Tyler has a look of pure rage as he snarls, fangs out, and lets his eyes turn fiery red. He's straddling me while pushing me to the floor with one hand on my chest and the other squeezing my throat. 

"Don't think I won't, Gilbert, you lying piece of shit."

I cough and struggle against him to make him release the grip on my throat. I succeed in twisting his fingers enough just so he has to loosen his hold a bit.

"If you wanted me dead, I'd be dead already. Also—" I manage to surprise him yet again with my unexpected move. Suddenly he's the one lying on the floor and I'm on top of him, having produced my handy little dagger from its secret hiding spot, holding it to his throat. "I'm way harder to kill than I look."

Tyler's roar would make an average man shit his pants but I'm far from average. Actually, Tyler's rage is the very thing helping me here. He is not thinking clearly, which helps me maintain the tactical edge. Still, even I can't contain the raw power when he uses his superior hybrid strength and throws me off like I was just some freshman cheerleader born yesterday. 

I fly off of him and slam against the base of the staircase. Tyler prowls closer, fangs bared, hair sticking up wildly but wisely keeps his distance. "What the fuck did you give me?"

I cautiously raise myself up into a sitting position, showing my hands as a sign of surrender. I try not to look too threatening, which is easier said than done while still holding the curvy silver knife, the handle covered in runes. 

"You've got it all wrong, I didn't give you anything." Tyler snorts but I ignore him. "It was something I drank myself, just a harmless mixture I've come up with to enhance the pheromones. It makes you more receptive to the person who drank it. It wears off real quick, I swear." I dare give a little smirk and add, "Like catnip to weres—werenip if you will."

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how messed up that is? Why not just ask for it?"

Despite all the negativity Tyler seems to have lost some of his rage. So as a gesture of good will I put the knife down with exaggerated, slow moves. "And what? You would have just given it to me?"

Tyler looks away. "Fuck you, Gilbert."

I shrug. "Well, that's why."

Tyler considers me while clearly putting effort into calming down. He's still very much on alert but he's taking deep breaths and withdrawing his claws and fangs. "Whatever. Just get the hell out of my house. If I ever have to see your ugly face again it'll be too soon." And he turns to go.

I've been given an easy way out. Despite all of my skills and experience, fighting a hybrid is always a bit of a gamble. Lady Luck decided to smile on me tonight. I got what I came here for and for only the price of a few minor scratches. I'm free to go chase my actual mission. A smart guy would get up and leave.

I stand up, feeling momentarily dizzy, and bend down to gather my things in order to go. It's a short walk to the door but as I take a few steps towards it I wonder if I should push my luck a little bit more. There may yet be something else for me to gain here. After all, nobody ever said I was a smart guy.

"It's funny, I never thought you a coward."

Tyler's halfway up the stairs when he stops and slowly turns to look at me. 

"Watch your mouth there, Gilbert."

I can almost hear him grinding his teeth together in an effort to not lose his temper again. He's gripping the railing, knuckles white. I raise my hands up, do a little twirl, half-naked as I am, showing off my assets. 

"Afraid you might actually like this?"

Tyler bares his teeth, his fangs once again dropped, and nearly shouts. "I said get out! I'm not warning you again!"

I shake my head a little, flashing him a condescending smirk. "Disappointing but not unexpected from the likes of you. I bet your dad would've had the balls to finish what he started." 

This time the loud breaking sound of the abused railing is the only warning I get. I don't even get to take a half-step forward when he's colliding with me and off we go again, rolling on the floor among all the splinters and broken wood. I have a really hard time trying to control my grin and not to laugh at how very predictable Tyler is, how easy he is to manipulate to do what I want him to do. 

Since I knew to expect this, I'm more prepared, too. Tyler is not holding back his strength, so it's a real struggle to block his moves, to try to stay in the game and not lose my head in the process. I'm quite sure he won't seriously try to bite me with all the vervain in my system but he seems far enough gone he's not thinking straight anymore. 

The second time I hit my shoulder on something uncomfortably sharp I decide enough is enough and that I need to start fighting back dirty. I would prefer not to survive two hybrid attacks today only to get impaled on a broken piece of railing after all. I manage to momentarily get a hold of Tyler's neck with my ring hand and punch the secret button, a little improvement I made myself, to release the vaporized wolfsbane there. It hits Tyler right in the nose and I win two precious seconds to turn this to my advantage. That's plenty enough for me, I only need a second and a half and when Tyler blinks his eyes to clear his head, I'm once again sitting on top of him, the silver knife tight against his throat. And this time I'm not letting go. 

Tyler growls but he's lost his momentum so he's back to shooting daggers at me with his black eyes. "You already got what you came here for. What more do you want from me?"

I lick at my lips and taste blood. Huh. I must have bitten myself at some point during all the rolling on the floor. I move my hips minutely to feel all that combined werewolf and vampire power in that exquisite ex-jock body of Tyler's vibrating with barely controlled explosiveness. I smile at him invitingly and let the lust show on my face. "What does any guy want? To get my rocks off."

Tyler keeps looking up at me, clearly trying to figure out if I'm joking or not. I lean closer to him and lower my voice almost down to a whisper, adding a seductive streak into it. "Wouldn't you like to continue from where we left off upstairs? I'll even let you fuck me if you promise not to behave."

A tiny drop of my blood falls down on Tyler's lips and Tyler spits it away with a grimace. "Fuck off, Gilbert! You drugged me! I wasn't myself back there."

The sheer angry conviction on his face is my favorite part in all this. I don't claim to always be right on everything but this thing we have here—I have zero doubts about it. I lean back, my fake smile innocent. "Back upstairs—that was mostly me, I give you that. But this thing here—" in a sudden shift Tyler doesn't see coming, I reach behind me with the hand that's not keeping the dagger tightly pressed against his throat and grab his junk and, surprise surprise, he's indeed hard. Very much so. " _This_ is all you." 

There's a sharp intake of breath from Tyler and his eyelids shutter briefly closed. He wasn't expecting that, was he now? We're nothing to each other, we have no amorous history, but I was right when I said we had something going on back up there. It's not my first time using the honey pot cocktail to allure my prey to me but Tyler's reaction to it, hell, _my_ reaction to it, was something else. He was so gone on me and that doesn't usually happen quite to the same extent. Unless there's potentially genuine desire bubbling there underneath it all. I give his erection another tight squeeze through his slacks and relish in the small moan Tyler can't hold back. I feel an answering twitch of sympathy in my own dick which is equally hard by now. 

"Come on, Tyler, just give it to me. You know you want this, too. To bury your big, hard cock into my tight little hole and teach me a lesson I won't easily forget."

Tyler stays silent, holding my gaze, and I can almost hear the cogs turning inside his head, the way he's trying to figure out whether I'm still using some form of poison to make him this horny. I take a calculated risk to show I mean what I say to get things rolling. I let go of his imprisoned erection with reluctance and take hold of his hand, guiding it to my bare chest right where my heart is beating wildly. It's half excited arousal, half healthy survival instincts kicking in. "You can rip out my heart from my chest if I'm lying but I much rather we fuck."

I can feel Tyler's fingers surrounding my heart, claws extending out, while he's testing me and contemplating the options. Even a tiny move from my part and the bleeding will start. If possible, the clear danger of the situation, the sharpness of the sting makes me even harder. What can I say? I'm one sick fuck.

After a heartbeat or three, Tyler's claws retract but the fingers stay, their touch burning through my skin. His eyes move from my chest to my face. I can see he's made his decision. 

"Lose the dagger."

So, this is it then. I close my eyes for a second. My last chance to change my mind and get out of here in one piece and never look back. The night is young, there's still plenty of time to go to a bar, any bar, and hook up with some random guy or girl, whichever comes first. Hell, I could even go back to the Grill, to see if any other old friends turn up to reminisce about the good old times. I really could. I open my eyes again and look at Tyler lying there between my legs, unyielding, holding himself unnaturally still, looking back at me with those dark brown, nearly black, eyes of his, all gorgeous and fuckable. Nah. I nearly shake my head. As if leaving was on the table here. 

"As you wish."

With a quick flick of my wrist I send the dagger flying across the floor to some far corner. Like I said, I'm all in and I mean it. No take backs.

The dagger has barely clashed against the wall when Tyler is on the move, flipping me over. He has me on all fours in a heartbeat, my sweats, or technically _his_ sweats, pulled down around my knees. I don't bother hiding the shiver of want that goes through me. I spread my knees wider as much as the flexible garment allows me, pushing my bare ass back towards Tyler like an offer on a plate. I may not have been on a sports team back in high school but life as a hunter has no shortage of speed and danger to put all that hard training into good use. So yeah, I know my ass doesn't pale much in comparison.

Tyler clutches my asscheeks with a firm hold, pulling me closer in one smooth move and I surprise myself by actually moaning aloud. I really should have gotten laid before this to lose the edge. Tyler doesn't stop but spreads the cheeks to expose my hole and I know he's only seconds away from just shoving his dick in. While I might be okay with that some other time, I still have a job to do afterwards, and I'd prefer it if I didn't have to leave the mansion with a heavy limp and my ass bleeding.

"Tyler, wait! There actually _is_ lube in my backpack."

Tyler snorts, pushing his thumb against my rim. "You're more stupid than you look if you believe I'd fall for that again. I won't go near that thing."

I struggle a bit to get away from his iron hard grip and his intruding fingers. "No, really, I mean it. I'm out of tricks here. I want you to fuck me, I swear, but it would be better for both of us with at least some minimum prep."

Tyler doesn't answer me, he just keeps relentlessly pulling my ass closer, not believing me. I turn to look at him over my shoulder, catching his eyes. "Have you ever taken someone against their will?"

That's what finally gets through to him. Tyler stares back at me then blinks as if to acknowledge what he's about to do and instinctively loosens his hold. And that's the thing here. Sure, Tyler's physically more powerful than me and if we kept a real fight going on for longer than just a few brief entanglements here and there, he'd beat me ten times over. But the thing about getting freaky in bed is to only play with people who have less damage than you. Then, unless they've completely lost it, you can always count on them to do the right thing. Or at least do better by you than you would. I don't truly claim to know Tyler but the signs are all there: the way he hesitates, the way he manages to control his rage time and again and the way he seems to live a semi-normal life. So, in this at least, I can always trust him to come through. 

"Fine. But make one wrong move, Gilbert, and I'll cut you in two."

My backpack is still by the door. I try to get up but Tyler barks, "On your knees."

I flash a dirty smile, which he can't see, and proceed to do just that. I have no trouble playing his little bitch if that will get me laid in the end. I slowly crawl across the dirt and rubble on my hands and knees, my ass in the air, the sweats around my knees, seriously reducing my ability to move. My cock is hanging heavy between my legs, swinging from side to side. I have no idea what Tyler is doing other than watching me grovel but I'm sure I make quite a sight.

Finally, I reach my backpack and extend my arm inside with slow movements. After some careful digging my fingers catch the prize. I withdraw it, still with the same exaggerated slowness and show it to Tyler. "Here, like I said. It's not been tampered with."

Tyler surprises me by wrenching it off of my hand. I hadn't realized he must have followed my progress so closely behind. There's no pause but the plastic being ripped open then the tell-tale sounds of Tyler spreading the lube between his fingers and hopefully around his cock, too. Then Tyler pushes two of his fingers inside me with no warning whatsoever. I groan loudly for not being ready. Despite my arousal, the pain still manages to take me by surprise. "Fuck, Tyler!" I know I can handle it if I just get a few seconds to adjust myself to the intrusion.

Tyler doesn't beat around the bush here. He stretches me with the impatience of someone who's had enough of the shitting around. His fingers go straight for my sweet spot and this time I scream. I feel like simultaneously not getting enough of it and getting too much. Just the way I love it. I try to spread my legs as wide as the damn sweats allow me and push my ass back towards Tyler, chasing his retreating fingers. The immediate pain is already receding and the two fingers are not enough. I need more.

"Stop horsing around! Put your cock inside me now!"

There's no change in the rhythm or the angle of Tyler's fingers. He keeps fucking me with them, ignoring my demands and hitting my prostate over and over again. Then his other hand sneaks around my balls to seize the base of my cock. He stills his movements, holding me hostage between his hands and slowing down my own movements until I have to stop altogether. 

"Oh come on, Tyler, don't be a tease! Just fuck me already!"

"You should see yourself, Gilbert. So desperate for my cock." Tyler sounds his arrogant old self like he had all the time in the world. "Is this what you do? Go from one werewolf to another, begging to be fucked?" Tyler resumes the in and out movement of his fingers but at a maddeningly slower pace. "What would your family say if they saw you like this? That you've become a monster fucker? Oh yeah, I forgot. They can't say a thing since they are all dead."

If that's Tyler's idea of a payback he couldn't be more wrong. I don't give a flying fuck what anyone says about my family anymore. Like he said, they are all dead, even my sister, technically speaking, so I really don't care. And I know better than anyone what kind of picture I make and I've made my own peace with it a long time ago, way before Tyler decided to bump into my life again. So what else is new? 

"If you truly want to know, I could always just ask them. They are all dead, like you said, and if you recall, I see dead people."

I manage to shock Tyler into momentarily stilling his fingers. "That's just disgusting! Even for you."

"Then I suggest you stop crying over my dead family and get on with it before my dick gets soft. We'll be old and buried before I see any real action with the geriatric pace you've got going on there."

Tyler grunts in irritation but withdraws his fingers and lets go of my dick. "Whatever. Just shut the fuck up!" 

Not wasting any more time, he guides his cock against my somewhat loosened up rim and shoves it all the way in with only two hard thrusts. This time I nearly howl but yet again, Tyler doesn't give me any time to adjust. He pulls almost all the way out and slams back into me with a force that would throw me several feet forward if he wasn't holding on to my thighs so tightly.

The next few minutes are a blur. It seems I had completely forgotten what it's like to be fucked by an actual hybrid. The sheer inexhaustible stamina us mortals can only dream of, the killer combination of a real-life monster made of flesh and blood and the unyielding edge of an undead creature. The constant contradiction of those two supernatural forces at war against each other while simultaneously creating and recreating the harmony to exist in one body. My thoughts make no sense which means I've reached the kind of state of being where I can get a few moments of peace from my own mind. To escape the eternal darkness and torment and just live in the here and now, the pure physical pleasure of it. Perhaps the best drug there is and certainly the only kind that affects me after all this time.

The hard slap of skin on skin is the solid background for my moans and Tyler's grunts as I try to get some leverage to push back. There are tiny sharp pieces of rubble digging into my knees through the sweats but I couldn't care less. It's all mixed in with the pleasure and I could keep going like this for a century and that's quite possibly the only reason worth turning into a vampire, to test that theory. And yet, at the same time, my whole body feels like it's on fire and my cock is about to burst. I must be moaning Tyler's name on repeat, gagging for release. Tyler seized my dick again at some point and the vice grip he has on it says there's no coming until he lets me.

"Yeah, take it, Gilbert! Just like that! You won't remember your own name when I'm done fucking you. That'll teach you not to underestimate a hybrid."

I'm so gone I can't make out even half of what Tyler's saying. Truth be told, it's monumentally stupid to let my guard down like this in a hybrid's home. That is one of the surest ways to lose one's head in a heartbeat. But I honestly wouldn't care if Tyler decided to kill me right here. I can't think of a better way to go. 

But I seriously need to come soon or else I _will_ die.

"Fuck, Tyler, just let me come!"

Tyler slows down his hips and all I can feel is my whole body vibrating to my very bones, tight as a bowstring just waiting for the release.

"Tyler!"

"Say please."

The slight quiver in Tyler's voice reveals he's not as unaffected as he pretends to be. If I'd had a fuck or two under my belt before coming here, I could play this game, too. As it is, my blood is rushing through my ears, my heart pounding and cock about to combust if I don't get to come. Orgasm denial really isn't my thing. 

"Ple-ease."

"What? I can't hear you."

"Please, Tyler, fuck! Let me come already."

Tyler waits a beat then says, "Okay, since you ask so nicely."

Tyler lets go of my cock and slams hard back inside me, nearly making me see stars in the dark entrance hall as I finally come. I get no rest, however, because Tyler continues to plow my sore ass, sinking in again and again, keeping me floating there on the edge, my body too stimulated to interpret the signals properly. Soon, Tyler starts to lose the unerring rhythm as he gets close. I half-heartedly push back against him and after a few more thrusts he comes inside me with a loud grunt. 

He keeps moving reflexively for a while longer until he stills and pants against my neck. I don't know how I'm managing to keep both of us up; I'm about to collapse myself. Some of Tyler's come dribbles down my thighs.

There's a crick in my neck and now that the orgasm high is fading, I can feel the thousand tiny pinpricks on my knees and I know just trying to get up is going to kill me. Still, we are so not doing pillow talk. I'm never one for the afterglow and this couldn't be a worse place to start trying. However, when I move a bit, trying to dislodge Tyler off of me, he stops me with a hand around my neck. 

Just when I think we're heading for yet another showdown and try to gather even an ounce of strength left in me to fight my way out of this, Tyler says, "I'm not done with you."

That could mean many things but the tone suggests there's going to be a round two. My ass is sore and I'm not sure my knees could handle another round on the hard, debris covered floor but despite my better judgment my dick gives a twitch. I laugh and make a conscious effort to relax and just breathe. 

"Okay. Don't waste time talking then. Just get on with it."

And just like that Tyler leans back, lifting me with him as if I were a rag doll, weighing nothing. He's sitting back on his haunches and I sit on his lap, feeling his cock still inside me stir again. I doubt Tyler had such a short refractory period even in his teens, it must be a were or a vamp thing. But whatever the reason, I've got no complaints here. 

He lifts me up for a second just to tear the dirty sweats off of me entirely and then he lowers me down with a little less force. He even allows me to find a more comfortable position on his lap before he pushes his cock back inside me, now fully hard again. I've still got a few moments to reach that state myself but he lets me find an easier pace this time around that works for me and starts getting me back in the mood again, slowly but surely. My hole feels nicely stretched out and I get past the numbness, finding just the right spot for Tyler to angle his cock. I could seriously do nothing else than just exist here, riding Tyler, till we both fall down in exhaustion or die of dehydration or desiccation or something. Every single hit of his cockhead sends a jolt through my body, and I can't remember when I've felt more alive. Like finally the emptiness, the all-consuming void that is my soul, is being filled by something. Even if it's Tyler's cock of all things. I start actually wishing he would eventually just impale me here and let me bleed dry so that I wouldn't ever need to return to my meaningless existence and the endless haunted days where all I get is blood and death around me. Both awake and dreaming.

Suddenly, Tyler interrupts my dark thoughts of self-hatred and despair by grasping my hair tightly and yanking my head backwards. "Hey, you still here? Don't try to pull that shit with me," he nearly growls in my ear. I imagine his sharp white teeth right next to my bare, defenseless human throat.

"Bite me," I say.

"What? Don't think so."

I shake my head slightly, feeling Tyler's lips accidentally brush my cheek. "No, no. I don't mean like that. Just, don't break the skin."

Tyler seems to catch on, and to my surprise, he does just that. He takes the skin of my neck between his teeth, careful not to break it, and nips and bites it with human teeth except for the tiniest hint of the unnatural sharpness in them. I expose my throat to him more fully, take in shallow breaths and, without the need to check my lap, can feel how it's making me hard again. 

Tyler notices it too and there's a puff of warm air against my throat as he laughs. "You really are a piece of work, aren't you, Gilbert?" 

Once again, Tyler manages to take me by surprise by wrapping his palm, slippery from a heady mixture of sweat and lube and come, around my dick and giving it a gentle but firm tug, then starting to slowly pump it in time with me riding his cock. The first round helped me to lose the edge and now, the second time around, it feels absolutely amazing. In another life it could even be described as gentle. I'm losing myself to this feeling and I know it should scare me. But for some reason it doesn't. Now I get the initial attraction upstairs, why everything felt more heightened, why I just couldn't let it go. It matters that this is Tyler, it matters that we have history, because it makes this personal. Even if said history was nothing like this, it still feels familiar somehow. Like we were always meant to get here anyway. 

On an instinct, I stretch my arms behind Tyler's neck to hold on and he lets go of my hair. His one hand is still slowly jerking me off but his free hand comes around my side to pinch my nipple. My nipples are usually not that sensitive but now his touch makes me moan and arch my back, wishing desperately he'd penetrate me deeper and that he could actually bite my neck and suck my blood. I've had that experience, rarely pleasant or included with sex, but my whole body seems to act on its own accord, yearning for something more. 

Tyler seems to sense the change of mood here, too. He's mouthing at my neck, alternating with licks and bites, letting his saliva wet my neck and parts of my upper body. I get a sudden desire to kiss him, to lose myself in his everything, to be completely owned by him but I'm not sure how he'd react to that and I don't want to break this fragile thing we have going on here. After all, it's one thing to just enjoy sex, to fuck like any average beast, but another thing to kiss and turn it into something more intimate.

I wish there was a mirror in the hall to let me see what we look like. I must look so debauched; that never really happens with anyone. For some reason, I think of Vicky and how Tyler and I used to fight over her all those years ago. Like there was anything about her worth fighting for, nothing my pathetic teenage-self had gained except a few lousy fucks where I lost my virginity to a crackhead who was ultimately just playing with me. I don't think Tyler would've been any better of a lay at the time though, all that restless high school jock energy on top of the annoying rich boy vibe where he genuinely didn't care for anyone else. 

And yet. There's a fleeting thought of what if, a rare one for me. I don't believe in the "what ifs," that way lies madness. But still. I have to wonder what would've happened, if I'd had even an ounce of my present knowledge and boldness and done something about our constant brawls. Maybe there was something between us back then, though the thought hadn't even crossed my mind at the time. Maybe, just maybe, things could have gone a slightly different path, if we could have found just a tiny piece of that acceptance and meaning from one another that we were so desperately looking for in other people.

Yeah, and if wishes did come true there would be a unicorn at the end of each rainbow, giving a new meaning to a fun ride. 

But we're here now, so it's time to make the most of it while I can. I don't expect this becoming a habit any time soon, the two of us as cozy fuck buddies.

Tyler's wandering hand moves to hold me steady, fingers splayed against my heaving stomach to quiet down my movements, and when I stop bouncing on his lap, his other hand on my cock stills, too. I get exactly one second to think he's back to his cock-teasing ways when he changes his grip and starts to caress—there really is no other word for it—the head. He massages it with such expertise my whole body is shaking. It could always be that he's had plenty of practice with his own dick, the wanker, but it looks like I was right earlier back upstairs when I guessed that I'm not the first guy Tyler's been with. I'm leaking like a broken pipe, once again getting nearly there.

"I'm so close, Tyler, please don't stop!"

But Tyler has decided to be a grade-A asshole, because whenever I beg for it, he seems to get special enjoyment in denying me and tormenting me some more. I don't blame him, though. It's exactly what I would do in his position if I were him.

The hand on my stomach tightens a little, then I have the first row seat to witness how Tyler lets his claws come out, excruciatingly slow. His other hand, the one still fingering my cock, remains all human, thank fuck. But then his claws curve slightly inward, breaking the skin on my stomach, and the first drops of blood blossom out. He drags his claws down along my body, just barely touching but not drawing any more blood after the first few pinpricks, as if to remind me that he can do so any time he chooses to. Finally his hand reaches my groin and so very carefully, he slides his clawed fingers to encircle the base of my cock, all this time still rubbing the head just maddeningly softly with his human hand. My breath is coming in great big pants, and I'm right on the edge, but once again not able to come without help from Tyler.

"You wouldn't believe," Tyler whispers in my ear, "how much I've had to practice to be able to control my transformation like this."

I'm staring at my red, leaking cock, transfixed on the sharp claws only an inch away while enduring the constant stimulation to my cockhead which is driving me insane. I don't think I've ever been so aroused in my life.

"Tyler..."

"You get off on this, don't you?" Tyler continues, ignoring my plea. "Playing with fire, knowing I could end you any second, tear you to pieces, vampire hunter or not." Tyler's fangs graze my neck and give a painful bite to my earlobe that stings.

"Tyler, please," I groan, nearly coming apart. "Just please." I don't know what I'm begging for anymore.

As if sensing that I can't really take it any longer, Tyler changes his tactics and suddenly we're on the move. I never get used to the supernatural speed and because of my dizzy state it takes me longer than usual to clear my head and to realize Tyler's finally got up from the floor, lifting me up with him. He puts me right on the very edge of the antique-looking chest of drawers, leaving me grasping for something to hold onto. I'm not falling down, though, since Tyler supports most of my weight by a secure grip of my asscheeks in his palms. The tips of his claws squeeze in, tightening the already tight hold. He looks straight at me, his eyes piercing black and wild but human. His hair is a mess as I'm sure mine is, too. 

"Touch yourself."

I trust in his strength to keep me there effortlessly, not letting me fall, and happily obey his command. I start jacking myself off with a fast pace, not waiting for him to change his mind. He follows the rapid movement of my hand flying on my cock for a while but I'm done with giving shows. It's every man for himself now. 

Tyler spreads my asscheeks some more and plunges back in with his usual force. My hand loses the coordination there for a moment but I wrap my legs tighter around Tyler's back, adjusting to the new closeness between us and change the rhythm to something that works. Tyler starts to fuck me mercilessly, hitting my prostate with nearly each thrust. There's a crash to the side I barely register and seriously, right now I wouldn't mind the whole world crashing and burning around us if I got to come this one last time. 

I'm squeezing at Tyler's sweaty neck with one hand while trying to finish myself off. I don't know what I'm saying but there's a constant stream of words, probably curses, coming out of my mouth. Lucky I'm not an agent working undercover. I would gladly reveal all my secrets right about now and everyone else's, too. 

Tyler attacks my mouth with a vengeance, to shut me up I'm sure, but instead of ravaging me with the same force he's burying his cock inside my ass, he actually kisses me open-mouthed and with a lot of tongue. We are making so much ruckus here, I wouldn't be surprised if Tyler ended up fucking me straight through the wall. 

Tyler lowers his mouth to my throat and when he sucks my throat hard while simultaneously sinking his cock deep inside me I get overwhelmed and come for the second time this evening, splattering Tyler's ridiculous abs with it. He falters for a moment, looking completely gone, nostrils flaring, eyes deep black, just waiting for the final straw. I use whatever energy there's still left in me and squeeze my legs tighter around his back. 

"Come on, Lockwood, show me what you've got."

And it's all the encouragement Tyler needs because he lifts me properly up against the wall and starts fucking me with abandon. It doesn't take long, only a few hard thrusts and then he buries his face in my shoulder and comes with a shudder as his orgasm hits him. 

We stay like that for a few moments, entangled with one another against the wall in the Lockwood Mansion foyer. I'm trying to catch my breath and feel if I still have any extremities like toes left to move. After a while, Tyler loosens up his hold and lowers me to my feet. Though I've been in more battles I can count for, it's not often that I've felt so thoroughly rammed through, like having taken a few rounds against a rhino and been left alive to tell the tale. Every single muscle is screaming in agony, my ass is on fire and I can barely manage to keep standing.

Tyler doesn't seem to be in a much better shape, hybrid or not. He gives me side-eye but doesn't say anything. I look around the entrance hall, at all the destruction caused by us: the broken railing and the rubble, all the tiny shards covering the floor. Even the expensive-looking flower vase that got dropped from the chest of drawers and was annihilated into a thousand little pieces. 

I can't help myself. "Wow, how will you explain all this to the help?"

Tyler just glances at me, tired and closed off, and turns to go. "Just get the fuck out of my house and don't come back. The next time you need some venom, go find yourself another hybrid."

There's plenty I could say to that but I realize I'm way too exhausted myself. Job or not, it will all have to wait for another day. I take a step and wince. Maybe a few days, to be honest. It's a small task to once again pick up my few belongings, even the messed up sweats which will have to do for now, but it takes way longer than it should. I certainly got what I was asking for.

Once I reach the door, I turn to look over my shoulder for the last time but Tyler's already disappeared back upstairs. Maybe it's better this way. I feel shaken in a way I've never really been before. Something happened here tonight and I need time to pull myself together and figure out my next move. The doorknob turns easily and I step outside.

My head starts to clear once I'm breathing in the cool night air. I swing my backpack over my shoulder, thinking it was all in a good night's work with two syringes full of hybrid venom. Not to mention all that fantastic sex. While thinking about what to do next, my eyes land on Tyler's fancy car parked just outside. It looks classy and well maintained and I bet it was originally one of his dad's. 

I don't bother hiding the wicked grin which spreads on my face as I know exactly what my next move is going to be. It looks like I might have a reason to revisit the Lockwood estate in the near future. And really, it's almost like Tyler wanted me to take his car. Why else would he have left it right there outside the house for anyone to steal it? I start to whistle while searching my backpack for my lock pick. 

I waste no time in getting in the car, connecting the right wires and stepping on it to speed out the gates. The music is blasting out so loud I have no way of knowing if the howl I hear is real or imagined. The way I see it, either I get to ride more than just Tyler for a while before returning the car and coming back for some more or I will have a pissed off hybrid on my tail sooner rather than later. In my book that's called a win-win scenario.


	2. Tyler

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler knows what he has with Jeremy won't last. So it's a good thing he's not in love or anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's an unspecified time gap between the two chapters, anything from a few months up to a few years, during which Jeremy and Tyler keep hooking up.

I wake up with the feeling that something is different. I strain my hearing, trying to search for any unwelcome visitors. The house sounds completely quiet however, so after a while I relax back into the bed and yawn. I rub my eyes and stretch, then turn to my side, coming face to face with Jeremy Gilbert. His chest rises and falls peacefully in deep slumber. There's sunlight coming through the curtains, painting Jeremy's bare chest with warm golden stripes. The duvet is covering some of his biggest scars, only a few minor scratches and old wounds are visible. His forehead is smooth for once, devoid of any of the usual frowning, the perpetual cynicism gone, if only momentarily. His full, pink lips are slightly open, and the thick dark eyelashes create shadows under his eyes. I close my own eyes. If I don't, I'll start creating sonnets at any time now and we're nothing like that. We're not even together. 

I turn away again to lie on my back and take a few deep breaths that make me smell the two of us here together, our scents mixing up in a way that still confuses me. I'm a half-vampire and Jeremy is a vampire hunter, the fact that we can share a bed this easily and spend the night together... there's just something fundamentally wrong with that. It scares me that I can sleep next to him like it's no big deal that he could murder me any time he wanted, and that the primal instincts I rely on, the ones which should guarantee my safety, are suddenly okay with that. 

I stare at the ceiling, the paintings on the wall, all the pompous and impersonal decor of the room, and wonder how we ended up here. Ever since my dad died, I refused to even think about moving into the master bedroom. We were as far as one could imagine from a loving and supportive father-son relationship and I wanted to keep my distance. And when my mom died, it got even worse. I didn't set foot into the damn room until one night, all because of Jeremy. A big duffle bag over one shoulder, he marched in like he owned the place, basically chased out the nice weregirl I'd been seeing at the time and refused to leave. Then took one look at the biggest bedroom in the house and said he wouldn't sleep in anything less. 

I sigh and inspect some of those bland paintings remaining on the wall just because there has been no time to redecorate this room yet. That's my one condition for us sleeping here: everything old gets torn down and thrown out. So far I've only managed with the bed. Funny how shacking up with a vampire hunter tends to bring said vampires swarming to your doorstep, looking for trouble. What a suicidal bunch of idiots, all of them. But yeah, that sure leaves little to no time for home improvement.

I turn my head away from the wall and sneak a look at still-sleeping Jeremy. He looks almost innocent like that, without a care in the world. I know better than most that looks can be deceiving, though. Jeremy is not innocent, but then again he's not even half as big of a badass as he likes to think he is. Deep down he's mostly the same emo teen skulking around the hallways, avoiding everyone and everything, thinking he's the most misunderstood poor soul out there. Still the same drama queen, only now ten times worse. It's true he's learned a thing or two along the way, but he thinks that because he's died and come back to life countless times, he's somehow lost his soul in the process. That's the biggest bullshit I've ever heard. Sure, he's lost people, more than the average guy, but who living in this crazy vampire town hasn't? I can manage a pretty impressive list myself. But yeah, whatever Jeremy might think, he's no Alaric. And maybe being a hunter has saved him from the same fate somehow. Or that's what I like to think at least.

But this is yet another night we've spent together and a rare peaceful morning in bed with nowhere else to be. I intend to take full advantage of the situation once Jeremy wakes up. Now, however, I just want to look at him. 

His nipple is peaking from under the duvet and my fingers itch to touch him, to follow those lean, hard muscles along his chest and all the way down to the coarse hair below his navel leading to his groin and his dick. I know it's sleeping now, too, but I also know how to get it up record fast.

"Take a picture, Lockwood, it'll last longer."

The raspy morning voice jolts my eyes back up to see that Jeremy is wide awake and probably has been for a while, watching me watching him. The corner of his mouth is crooked but he looks genuinely amused so I'm not gonna push it.

"Fuck you, Gilbert."

I can't muster any heat into the words but I guess it would be meaningless anyway since I slowly lean closer to give Jeremy a proper morning kiss. I linger there for a while, kissing at his plump, pink mouth lazily, unwilling to start anything more serious yet. Just content to taste him for now. The past few days have been difficult, more so than usual. Jeremy had been on one of his hunting trips and although he did make it back home in one piece, he was half-dead on his feet. I have yet to see him in such a rough shape afterwards. He refused all my help, it must've been a miracle he agreed to come to me in the first place. He said he can take care of himself and I know he can. Still, it's hard to stay away, just looking from the sidelines when someone you care about is hurting. 

Yeah, so I care about him, big deal. I tried so long not to give in to this. Jeremy laughed straight at my face, claiming it's the werewolf gene in me, the innate desire to form a pack, to have another alpha by my side. And maybe it is, who knows? I've learned not to hate the wolf in me. Being a hybrid and having control over the horrible, violent transformation helps. So I'm not all that bothered by my family curse anymore. Obviously, I don't believe in any wolf mate crap but I'm learning to accept it as a part of who I am. And if for some weird reason that part is okay with Jeremy beating my vampire doubts into submission, so be it. I guess I could do worse. Hell, I _know_ I could do worse. My unsuccessful dating history would like to agree. 

I deepen the kiss, pushing my tongue into Jeremy's mouth. He hums into it, contentment in his voice. I like him most when he's pliant like this, not forcing any agenda or intentionally trying to complicate my life. I move closer to lie half on top of him, still just enjoying the kiss and not going for anything more. Jeremy does make it challenging for me when he deliberately presses his thigh between mine and wraps his other leg behind my back, drawing me against him, not leaving an inch between us. I move my hand to caress the side of his face and pull him by the hair to expose his neck for better access. My fingers touch upon a fresh wound on his temple half hidden by his hair, something that wasn't there before the latest mission. I can't help myself, I drag my tongue towards it, licking the wound as some weird-ass attempt to kiss it better. Hell, sometimes even I can't figure out why my instincts make me act the way I do.

Jeremy tolerates it, allowing me to lick it for a few seconds more, then laughs and shoves at my chest.

"Cool off, dude. Don't need any of your wolfy germs in it."

There's no real force behind his shove, all part of our play, and I stay where I am, looking down at him. Jeremy is looking back at me, eyes crinkly. There's a strange feeling in my chest I don't want to examine too closely. We may have a working arrangement here but that's all there is to it. No need to complicate what we have and what works for us, such a fragile truce that it is.

My silence has gone on for a heartbeat too long. Jeremy looks at me, getting more serious. "What?"

I stare at the wound almost dangerously close to his eye, noticing how it's already getting better but how it's probably going to leave a scar. 

"Just wondering if a pirate's eye patch would be a good look on you."

My stupid comment manages to catch Jeremy off guard and he barks a delighted laugh.

"And that's why," he says, shaking his head, "I keep you around, Lockwood. You can be funny when you want."

I grin at him, feeling playful for a moment. Then I get back to the serious business. "Did you get more of the tat?"

Jeremy nods. 

"Where did it grow?"

Jeremy just looks at me without saying a word, licking his lips and being a big flirt with his chocolate brown eyes. I'm not always so easily affected by it but he does currently have a thigh pressed against my dick so the look is harder to resist than usual. I feel his other leg, sliding against my side, toes digging into my calf. I raise my eyebrows. "Really? On your toe?"

He wiggles his eyebrows for an answer. 

"Of course on your toe." I snort. "I keep waiting for the day it gets on your dick, too."

"And how would you know it's not already on my dick?"

I roll my eyes at him. "If it was, no one would know anyway since it would be too small to see."

"Small?" Jeremy laughs. "I thought we were talking about my dick, not yours."

We wrestle on the bed, making a mess of the sheets, a pleasant change for the real fights we had in the beginning. Mostly we just mock-fight now, to keep in shape. It just always leads to one thing. I use my actual strength for a second and manage to capture both of his arms above his head. I lean closer down to whisper in his ear. "No matter the size, you sure can't get enough of mine since you keep coming back for more."

Jeremy's amused laugh turns into a moan when I lower my groin against his, rubbing our erections together. 

"Yeah, fair point, Lockwood, I kind of do." Jeremy sighs and in a fluid move, surges up to kiss me. There's bite and aggression in it and he uses the distraction to break one of his arms free and wiggle his hand between us lightning-fast to squeeze us both in his palm. It's my time to moan at his exquisite handling. 

For the record here, not that it needs to be said aloud, mine is actually bigger. Then again, Jeremy's dick is really nice, too. I didn't use to walk around the locker room, fantasizing about other guys' dicks but that's Jeremy's influence right there. He gets under my skin, and I can't stop thinking about him or his dick. 

As if Jeremy was reading my mind, he adds, "But you're quite hungry for mine, too."

As for an answer, I make true of my earlier attempt and use my free hand to seize the back of his head and suck at Jeremy's throat. His breathing gets erratic as always, and it gets me even harder to feel his rapidly beating pulse and the roar of his racing blood right under my mouth, my teeth barely grazing that vulnerable human skin of his. 

"Go ahead," Jeremy pants. "I'm clean."

I lift my head to search for the truth in his eyes. "Since when?"

Jeremy's eyes are gleaming and he looks just as dangerous as always. "Since late last night. I've been off vervain for the last few days so by my calculations every single drop has vanished by now." His eyes zero in on my fangs and I struggle with not letting them drop. He licks his lips. "Have at it."

And really, how could I say no to that? I stop fighting the transformation and drop my fangs, sinking them the very second they are out into the soft and inviting spot on Jeremy's neck right where it meets the shoulder. The heady rush is almost instantaneous. The hot flood is gushing from the puncture wounds and filling me with such unprecedented bloodlust, I lose myself in it. There's a small nagging part somewhere deep in the back of my brain, sounding unfortunately a lot like Caroline, reminding me that in a state like this I'm like any prey, way too easy to kill. Not to mention, if I lose the little control I have I could drain Jeremy dry in one go.

Jeremy, the manic monster fucker, just presses the back of my head closer, while desperately humping against me, trying to get some leverage to rub off on me. With a great effort I stop for a second to catch my breath and enjoy the intoxicating aroma. It's such a rare occurrence to get to taste Jeremy's blood, I can count the previous times with the fingers of one hand. It's rich and strong with a slight aftertaste of bitterness, just like the man himself. I've yet to figure out if the bitter aftertaste is all Jeremy or the lingering effects of the ever-present vervain. 

There's a sluggish crimson flow still coming from the small wounds and making my nostrils flare while I savor the smell of it. I lean back down to lick the few drops, not letting them go to waste, catching them on my tongue. Once I lift my head up again Jeremy is staring at me, eyes dark with lust. I hesitate for a second because it hasn't really been a thing for me to do in bed with my sex partners, especially with non-creatures, but Jeremy is something else. I know we're playing with fire here. If something should happen to Jeremy now, another surprise attack where he'd be killed, he might turn for having my blood in his system, vampire hunter or not. I'm not sure how much he knows about the lore himself but it's a risky move either way. And yet, here we are. Jeremy likes it risky. 

I maintain eye contact while moving my arm between us with deliberate slowness to let Jeremy see what will happen next. He says nothing, just follows my movements closely. I turn my hand around and bite into my own wrist and suck on it just enough to get the blood flowing. When I offer it to Jeremy he grabs hold of my arm with both hands and drinks without hesitation. I can't help the moan or the way my dick jumps almost painfully. I try to keep my eyes open to watch the skin on Jeremy's neck in front of me rapidly healing and knitting back together. Finally, I give in and close my eyes to just feel, nosing the newly healed part of Jeremy's neck. It costs me but it really is better for both of us to keep a lid on the excessive blood sucking, be it mutual or not. Jeremy eases there after a while then lets go of my wrist. We've made an actual mess of the bed sheets but I just want to lie there for a few moments more, skin against skin, and feel our hearts beat as one.

As usual, there's only so much cozy intimacy Jeremy can take before he starts becoming restless. He squirms a bit, getting me to finally budge up enough so that he can capture my head between his hands and turn my face to kiss me and let me taste the remnants of my own blood on his lips. He knows the idea alone drives me wild. The thing is, I find kissing Jeremy intoxicating and can't get enough of it. It's just that it requires me to keep myself in control the whole time so that I won't get too excited and end up trying to turn him on the spot. Jeremy knows me all too well. That's why he loves to push the boundaries, to skate the edge of the limit. Now, however, he seems too impatient to torment me like usually but he wriggles some more under me and slaps my ass. 

"Enough with the horseplay. I've got essays to grade and places to be, so let's get this show on the road. How do you want to do it? Want me to suck you off?"

The cheeky look is back with a vengeance. As I try not to feel so disoriented he continues with, "The cocksucker for the bloodsucker? To prove you're not the only one who can suck here." 

To add insult to injury, he pokes the inside of his mouth with his own tongue for an exaggerated measure. The worst thing is, he and his pink, soft mouth actually are pretty damn phenomenal. He really is good at sucking cock. If I delve too deep into that I feel my metaphorical hackles rise at the thought of all the practice he's had with his previous partners, supernatural or not. I shake my head to clear my mind and stop that train of thought before it has a chance to go anywhere. 

Jeremy's look morphs into something more concentrated as he brings his forefinger to my mouth, slides it against my lips then pushes it lightly inside for me to suck on. His eyes turn a shade darker and when he returns his hand to my ass, squeezing it and circling the rim with the same wet finger I just sucked, his voice drops. "Actually I'd really like to fuck you. I can always suck you off after."

His words make me shiver. The truth is, I'm not a big fan of bottoming. Call it a werewolf thing or an alpha thing or just the fact that I don't like to turn my back on anyone for any reason. But it's the way he says it, the way he wants it, the way he's affected by the mere thought. I consider my options. Then I make my decision and sit up. Jeremy chases after me, not letting go. "Wait, Ty, we don't have to. It was just a suggestion."

"How about we level the playing field? Get rid of this," I say, touching lightly Jeremy's earlobe around the small ear stud, avoiding the actual jewelry, hiding a small amount of vervain. "And this," I continue, picking up his hand and turning the ancient magic ring on his finger. "And then I'll ride you."

Jeremy looks at me like I've lost my mind. He's clearly considering if this is all a big joke or if I'm actually planning some elaborate trap. I don't honestly know if I could compel him even without his precious trinkets, vampire hunter and all that, but it's not like Jeremy's ever been willing to test it either.

"Are you serious?"

I swallow and nod. Jeremy doesn't say anything. I look at him and wonder how to assure him I don't have any ulterior motives here. 

"Do you trust me?"

Jeremy remains silent. He seems to hesitate, searching for something, a reassurance I wish I could give. The poised moment lasts for several heartbeats then finally, after what seems like a small eternity, Jeremy reaches for his ear stud and unhooks it. Then he takes his ring between his thumb and middle finger and slides it off of his finger, dropping them both on the hideous night table, the next offending furniture on the list to go. Such relatively small objects but with such massive symbolic weight. He turns back to me with a challenge in his eyes but I detect some uncertainty, perhaps even fear in there, too. It's such a momentous instant, the implications make me reel. Jeremy has basically surrendered all power to me, showing his trust in a way that seems to have taken even himself by surprise. I swallow. I intend to be worthy of that trust.

"Okay, I—okay, just lie down and relax. I've got this." 

For once, Jeremy heeds my advice and goes along with it. He leans back, hooking his hands behind his head on the pillow and gaining some of his usual cockiness back. I look around the bed, thinking my next move. "Okay. Let me just get ready first." 

I reach for the same ugly night table on the side and pull out the well-used bottle of lube from the top drawer. When I squirt some of the lube on my palm, there's no stopping the slight flush starting to color my cheeks. It's hardly there, thanks to my vampire skin tone, but the werewolf in me is more than able to blush for both parts. I just can't help getting self-conscious. I'm used to being in charge, it's just the way it is. I know what I look like and I've never had any doubts of my sex appeal, the line-up of eager cheerleaders back in high school is enough proof of that. It's just when I should put on a show, when I can't just pounce on someone, I'm at a loss for what to do. I don't really do slow and seductive, like ever, that's more Jeremy's style for when the mood strikes.

Now, seeing that my fingers are well and truly coated with the fluid substance I reach out behind me and aim for my hole. I close my eyes on a reflex, just trying to get this part over with so that we can move on to the main event. But Jeremy won't have it. He kicks my thigh with some force, making me open my eyes and look at him.

"Hey, none of that, okay?"

I'm on my knees, half bent down, my fingers frozen on my ass but before I can ask he beats me to it. "Show me. I wanna see you."

If I wasn't blushing already, Jeremy's demand would do the trick. This is far from my comfort zone but when I look at him, see him lying there vervain free, without his ear stud or magic ring, buck naked and not afraid, I can't deny him anything.

And the thing is, when I turn around on the bed, exposing my asshole for him to see, suddenly I don't feel so awkward anymore. The knowledge that Jeremy really wants to see this part of me, that it gets him all horny, affects me, too. My cock is twitching between my legs, getting harder again as if there was no momentary loss of interest at all. I widen my stance on my knees some more, then lower myself to lean on my elbow while simultaneously offering my crack for a better view. Then I plunge two fingers inside. 

It's brutal at first but one thing we're alike in is that we both like it a little rough sometimes. As if to prove my point, I can hear Jeremy's intake of breath, his elevated heart rate and whatever momentary soreness I feel, it's more than worth it.

There's a squelching sound of the bottle and soon after that I hear the slick sound of skin on skin, the clear sign of Jeremy taking himself in hand and jacking off in a lazy rhythm. My smile is quick as I close my eyes again to better concentrate on my other senses, to listen to the sounds coming from behind me as I push my fingers in and out, stretching myself with a purpose. 

"Yeah," Jeremy rasps, not even trying to hide the lust in his voice. "Open yourself for me properly, baby."

My fingers can't reach my prostate from this angle but that's not the point here. I add a third finger in the mix and pick up the pace and that does it. The mattress underneath me shifts and suddenly Jeremy is right behind me, touching me and spreading my asscheeks wider, holding them apart for better access.

"Fuck, Ty, you should see yourself like this. Your hole all wet and loose and hungry for my cock."

Jeremy's breath on my skin right above my asshole makes me shiver with want. I can feel the telltale signs of my eyes changing color and I lose the fight against my fangs dropping on their own accord. I'm more than ready to sit on Jeremy's dick and ride him hard and fast but it's Jeremy's call now, so I remain where I am. I keep up the show for him, fucking my hole with my fingers over and over and over.

"Just like that, Ty, get yourself nice and ready. Only for me," Jeremy breathes and without warning, pushes his thumb in, making me groan. It's a tight fit but I manage. A regular human would struggle right about now but I'm a different breed altogether. There's basically nothing my body can't adjust to when given some time. God, how I love being a hybrid.

"Fuck yeah, just take it." 

Jeremy's voice breaks and the fingers of his other hand are gripping my asscheek so tight it's going to leave marks, even momentarily. We've actually tried that, too. Once Jeremy brought out his entire arsenal to see if any of it could leave a permanent mark on me and I let him. I don't know what it says about me or him but yeah. Not much stayed there for long and nothing remained after, not even Jeremy's magical hunter's dagger could work my skin that deep. Jeremy must think I get off on pain. What he doesn't need to know is that it wasn't the pain but the thought of having his mark on me. He's so full of scars but none of them were made by me. If he left now and never returned, there would be nothing left of me on him to prove I was there. Nothing of him left on me.

I shake my head, trying once again to clear my thoughts. I hate the effect Jeremy has on me. I was doing just fine all these years and then one fatal error made everything turn on its axis. I could have thrown him out while I had the chance and never looked back. Instead, not only did I let him in my home and my bed, he sneaked his way past my defenses and pulled me in hook, line, and sinker, as if he'd used his curvy dagger to carve a permanent place for himself in my heart. And here I am, shaken, slowly coming apart by his touch and determination alone. 

"Okay, come on," Jeremy says, grasping at my waist, losing his patience. "Turn around and just fucking sit on my dick already."

That's all the encouragement I need. I turn around in a split second, pushing Jeremy down on the bed. I have zero desire to prolong this any more than Jeremy does. His heart is beating like crazy beneath my slick fingers. I don't need to resort to my enhanced senses to feel the lust pouring off of Jeremy. The way he's lying underneath me, eyes dark and intense, lips slightly apart, breathing accelerated; it's intoxicating to be the center of his attention. It scares the shit out of me if I let myself think about it. That's why I always try my best not to think about it. For a much needed distraction, I dive in for a bruising kiss, crushing Jeremy's mouth and drawing some blood with it. The lack of the ever-present vervain is such a welcome change. It's just me and Jeremy here now.

I don't give Jeremy any chance to recover, leaning back to take his erection in hand and sinking onto it in one fast move.

"Fuck yes, Ty, give it to me." Jeremy moans and there's not a single cell in my body, vampire or werewolf origin, that doesn't want to follow through. 

I don't really need any time to adjust myself but I take it anyway. I sit there, not moving for a few precious seconds, wishing that freezing time was one of my supernatural powers. 

"Look at me, Jer."

When Jeremy opens his eyes, I lift myself up and sink back down on his cock. Though we don't often do it this way, it's the easiest thing to start moving my hips to find the right rhythm. Judging by the look on Jeremy's face, the tiny moans coming from his mouth, and the way he's struggling to maintain the eye contact, I'm doing something right. 

It's so rare to get to witness Jeremy like this. If I stretch my imagination a little I can almost see how it would have gone for us in high school. If only I had been less of a jackass, if I had just taken one good look to see what was right there in front of me. Then again we would've probably just crashed and burned back then. I had zero self-control those days and was such a douche to everyone, often for no particular reason. There's no way it would have worked out, not really, and yet I can just see us clearly as if it had really happened. Us sitting one day in my dad's study, drinking the most expensive booze from the liquor cabinet and bonding over our similar sob stories, like our parents dying or a mutual dead girlfriend or some shit like that, and then me maybe kissing him. A random thing done on an impulse—that could have been us. I can't imagine young Jeremy being that bold but I certainly had very few barriers back then. I might have done it on a dare or on a whim, hell, just feeling particularly randy and resorting to the closest warm body next to me. Jeremy would've been shocked, I bet, but I wonder what then? Could he have resisted the dare or would he have wanted to beat me to it as always?

"Fuck, Ty, harder!"

I change the angle a bit and ride Jeremy like he wants me to. I can't come like this but it sure feels good to have Jeremy's cock hitting my sweet spot with every single thrust. I look at his naked torso, all sweaty and glistening, taking in the familiar scars and some of the recent ones he's acquired while away. Then there's the ever-growing hunter's mark he claims only he can see. And supposedly other hunters but they are few and far between, so it's not likely I'll ever get to meet one and ask them to verify it. Not that they'd ever obey me over Jeremy anyway. 

But yeah, maybe with a deeper connection back then we'd have been better prepared for the constant horrors out there and built stronger walls against them. If only we'd had each other when there still were different paths to follow. Then again, maybe it's better we never got the chance to try it; teen love does not end well. Just look at Bonnie and Jeremy. Or Caroline and me. Or Elena and Stefan. The list is endless. 

"Hey," Jeremy suddenly squeezes my waist and stills me. "I know this isn't really your thing," he says and to make a point, pinches my nipple hard, "but don't disappear on me, okay? Your brain is going a mile a minute. Care to share?"

I almost try to deny it but then change my mind. I actually want to know. "Just thinking about this. Us. What it would've been like, if we'd done this back in high school."

Jeremy's surprised laugh sounds disbelieving. "Are you serious? What the fuck made you think of that?"

I can't exactly say that I wonder what we'd've been like with less damage and more of a future still ahead of us. I shift my body, causing Jeremy to gasp, and try to dismiss it, already regretting bringing it up. "I don't know, it was just a thought."

"You wish I'd been another dirty little secret of yours? Like Vicky?" Jeremy challenges me with sweaty hair clinging to his forehead and a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Good for a fuck or two but not presentable enough to mom and dad?"

I feel my temper rising and try to control it in vain. "It's not the same."

"Oh, is that so? You think we would've just walked to school, hand in hand like boyfriends? The popular rich jock and the pothead with the dead parents?" Jeremy sneers. "You would've called me your boo and sent hearts on a Valentine's Day?"

I seriously feel like slapping him right now, not so much for what he's saying but for the way he's saying it, taunting me. But the thing is, what he's saying is probably the unfortunate truth. I certainly can't see myself walking to school, holding hands with Jeremy or calling him my boyfriend in front of everyone. It's not like I would've been afraid exactly, but it wouldn't have won me any popularity points either. I was too much like my rotten dad, cared too much about appearances and what people thought of me. I like to think that I'm not that person anymore. 

"I didn't think so," Jeremy interrupts my thoughts, somehow looking both vindictive and bitter at the same time. His short nails scratch my chest lightly, moving down towards my navel. "You know what I think?"

And suddenly I don't want to hear Jeremy's condescending words poisoning the little that's left of our fragile balance. Jeremy's off vervain, I could always try compelling him to shut up.

"I think tha-mmph—" Jeremy's next words are lost in my mouth when I dive in to kiss him with abandon to silence him on the subject. I snatch both his wrists and stretch them far above his head on the headboard, linking our fingers together. Jeremy is always fast to recover from surprises, though. One minute he's kissing me back with his all, the next I feel him bend his knees and with the new-found leverage beneath his feet, he bucks up and slams back into me with force. I break the kiss to moan because I didn't see it coming but what a welcome mood change.

"Come on, Lockwood," Jeremy groans, tightly squeezing my fingers with his own and fucking into me with all his strength, "don't let me do all the work here. Finish what you started!"

And that's all it takes to break the spiral of dark thoughts. I slide our entangled hands closer down along the pillow, getting enough support to lean on my elbows and push back against Jeremy with full force. I try to keep kissing him but it gets sloppy fast and all the bouncing on Jeremy's dick makes aiming too hard to coordinate, so I give up and bury my face in his neck and just breathe him in, drowning myself in the sound of his ragged breathing. 

I really could do this all day. There's something honest about Jeremy like this, like all he wants from me is a good hard fuck. And that's definitely something I can provide him. Our bodies slam loudly together in the otherwise quiet room. It gives me an almost twisted pleasure to imagine what my dad would've said if he'd ever witnessed this happening in the Lockwood Mansion master bedroom, his no-good son taking it up the ass from the useless Gilbert boy. I give a few extra vicious pumps for good measure, hoping the bed feet will hit the floor loudly enough to be heard in whatever hell my dad was sent to. That's probably Jeremy's influence, a part of his craziness surfacing in me, but I'm more than okay with it.

"Wait! Wait, Ty! I'm close. Are you close, too?"

Jeremy's whole body is trembling between my thighs, trying to delay the inevitable. He's so close to losing it. My grin must be downright feral by now, the animal part in me taking over. I bend down as if to kiss him, but at the last second I turn my face to the side, missing Jeremy's mouth by an inch. Instead I attack his ear, licking and sucking it, causing Jeremy to moan helplessly. I start moving again, riding his cock while still relentlessly worrying his earlobe. It took me an embarrassingly long time to discover how sensitive Jeremy's ears are. Maybe I should try to make him come just by tongue-fucking his ear sometime. He probably wouldn't come from that alone but it would be fun to try.

"Ty—Ty, just stop," Jeremy gasps, and freeing his hand from my hold he weasels it between us to slap at my chest. "You're killing me here. I will end you, you asshole."

He sounds frustrated, angry even, but it's all for a show. Underneath the irritation he's just gagging for it like always. I flex my muscles to prove it and relish in the glazed look on Jeremy's face while he shudders underneath me, nearly there. "Oh, come on, Jer, you love my asshole."

But once again, Jeremy is not to be bested. All he needs to do to wipe the smug look off my face is to use his fast hunter reflexes to grab hold of my dick. 

I should have seen it coming but I didn't. A few fast strokes with the sure, tight grip of Jeremy's fist get me back to fully hard. It's my turn to pant. 

"What was that, Ty? Can't keep it together, can you? Let me show you how it's done."

And that does it. The game is on now, to see who makes who come first. Jeremy lies still to allow me some space, and I start rocking back and forth, fucking into his fist, moaning each time he rubs his thumb along my cockhead. It makes everything feel more intense. Every single time I push back against Jeremy's groin I feel like I'm reborn. 

"Yeah, Ty, just like that!"

My whole body is on fire and I feel like I'm vibrating out of my skin. I let my fangs drop. I crave for just one more taste of Jeremy's blood. Just a few delicious drops. 

It's like a chain reaction: the second I feel Jeremy's cock pulsing inside me, spreading the come, the next, my own orgasm erupts out of me, overwhelming in its intensity. I hold on for the ride but then collapse on top of Jeremy, giving in to my instincts, and sink my teeth into Jeremy's irresistible neck for one last time. 

After a while, Jeremy's fingers find their way into my hair, and he pulls it lightly as a warning. "Cut it out, Ty. You've had enough for one morning."

Jeremy's words penetrate through the red haze and slowly I manage to withdraw my mouth but not before carefully licking every single precious drop of blood from Jeremy's neck. I'm blissfully content and all is right in the world. 

"You look stoned, man." Jeremy smirks, amusement in his voice. "Feeling good?"

I hum, not really registering the words. I'm on cloud nine and I just want to stay here, lying on top of Jeremy, all post-coital and loose-limbed. His skin is warm and sweaty and my fingers wander aimlessly along his side, skating the edges of the various bumps and ridges of the scars from his countless hunting trips. Jeremy is a solid presence underneath me for now but our heartbeats are already starting to slow down, the sweat to cool off, and my semen between our chests to get sticky. I start to count down the seconds since I know from the experience that all of this is going to expire soon. I should probably consider a new career as a psychic; no sooner did I have that thought than Jeremy plants his hands against my chest and shoves. 

"Budge up, will you? You weigh like a ton."

I could resist his efforts and quickly turn this into a semi-wrestle but for once I decide to play nice, so I roll over, stretching my body lazily like it wasn't a big deal. I've never been much of a cuddler. I've done my fair share of it because that's what many of my lady partners have wanted and I haven't minded it. But with Jeremy it's different. He makes me feel things I'm not sure I want to feel. It's all so new and raw between us: one moment we're fucking like there's no tomorrow and the next, the knives and claws are out for real blood. I think there's a part of me that wants more but just can't seem to get it. Instead, I can feel it slipping through my fingers like quicksand and I try to raise some of those walls that have kept myself even somewhat sane back up, but ever since Jeremy came back into my life, he's blasted the walls apart and I don't know how to protect myself from all this when it inevitably collapses.

Next to me, Jeremy snickers.

"What?"

His chocolate brown eyes are almost too bright to look at. "I sure knew just how to get to you, didn't I?"

"What do you mean?"

The closest Jeremy comes to his old self in high school, no scratch that, even before, all the way back in elementary when he was just a scrawny kid, running after Elena, Matt and me, is when he has that glint of mischief in his eyes and that half-grin on his lips. 

"When you started waxing poetic about our misspent youth and got all teary-eyed."

"Oh fuck off, there were no tears involved."

"No? I'm sure I saw your lower lip tremble there at some point," Jeremy mocks me, and his smile is beautiful. 

I want to be angry with him but all my aggression seems to have evaporated into the thin air during our morning gymnastics and all that's left is lingering sadness at everything always coming to an end, melancholic heaviness where my heart is supposed to be. I turn away from him to stare at the immaculate cream-colored ceiling. "You've watched too many Hallmark movies. It was just a stupid thought, nothing more."

"Hey," Jeremy says, taking hold of my chin with his fingertips and forcing me to face him. "Maybe so, but we both know exactly how it would have turned out."

"Oh yeah?"

Jeremy's serious eyes see straight into my very soul. "Yeah. You'd have bullied me, the asshole you were back then. You'd have bullied me whether you were into me or not. You'd have picked up a fight with me just like we did about Vicky, it wouldn't have mattered over whom or what. You might have kissed me at some point. On a dare, perhaps, or just for feeling horny. And I might have let you. We'd have been secret fuck buddies, something to be ashamed of. You'd still have called me names in front of your stupid jock friends whenever Matt wasn't there to stop you. And you'd have rather been caught dead than seen with me publicly, not to mention in front of your parents. You'd have taken different girls for all the dates and parties. And then, when you'd finally have grown tired of me, you'd have dumped me and moved on. And the worst thing is that I—" Jeremy swallows and his eyes stray away from mine for a second.

My mouth feels dry and I want to deny everything Jeremy is saying but I can't. It's because I know what he says is true. That's exactly the way it would have gone for us if we'd hooked up while still in high school. I don't want to have this conversation, yet I can't move a muscle to stop it. I'm staring, eyes transfixed, at the tight look on Jeremy's face, unable to blink or draw a breath.

"I would have felt like shit the entire time and after it was over, I would have cried like a girl and been all lonely and miserable," Jeremy finishes with the familiar bitterness creeping back into his eyes. 

His fingertips are still squeezing my chin, leaving their temporary marks behind, when suddenly it hits me. Something I've never realized before. Jeremy looks angry and bitter, not because he's mad at my imagined behavior, but because I'm not alone in this. He's not angry at my imagined self but at himself for feeling so strongly about this. For what may have been and for what we may yet have. We may have been a disaster back in high school but we're not in high school anymore. We've both had our share of teen drama and heartbreak, real or exaggerated, but right now we are both here, in my bed, voluntarily spending time together, not for the first time and hopefully not for the last. Jeremy is lying right next to me, vervain free, without any of his protective magic trinkets. I must have been blind not to see it before. 

I move slowly, not forcing myself on him, to touch his fingers, to cover them with mine and gently remove them from my chin. Then I smoothly roll the rest of the way to lie half on top of him again. Jeremy remains still, like he's expecting some trick, ready to defend himself if need be. I try to be as open as I can. 

"Yeah? Well, maybe so. But we're here now and we don't have to play by anyone else's rules anymore. It's morning and you haven't left my bed yet. So, if you decide to stick around, I can give you a few good reasons why we might not be such a bad match. What do you say?"

Jeremy still looks doubtful when I lean down to kiss away the unhappy wrinkles around his mouth. I lick my way inside and taste his tongue, feeling Jeremy starting to respond and slowly relax back into the sheets. I'm more than ready for round two. Jeremy's stomach chooses that moment to grumble loudly, however. It breaks the last of the tension and I lift my head up, reluctantly letting go of Jeremy's soft, pretty mouth. 

"Okay, first breakfast _then_ round two." I pause for a second. "I could make us some pancakes. Sound good to you?"

Jeremy nods. "Sure."

"How would you like them?"

Jeremy slides his fingers through my hair, playing with what I'm sure is quite a spectacular bedhead, and gives a small smile. "Make them with blueberries and I'm good."

"Pancakes with blueberries coming right up."

I make myself sit up and I even get as far as a few steps away from the bed but then I can't help myself. I turn, lightning quick, and jump back in. This time I get a genuine laugh out of Jeremy as we roll some more, making even more of a mess of the sheets, kissing and dry humping like eager high schoolers.

*

When I finally skip the stairs down, two at a time, I'm actually in a surprisingly good mood. I almost feel like whistling a tune but I don't want to push it. Bad luck will catch up with us eventually, so there's no point in hurrying it.

I make it into the kitchen, switch the light on and open some cupboards in the hopes of finding all the needed ingredients. There should be some flour left from the last time. If not, I can always use the batter mix. It won't be as good, but if Jeremy wants pancakes, pancakes it is.

I blame my unusually happy mood and the fact that they are relatives and therefore share the same familiar scent as for why I didn't notice her at first. It's only when I close the fridge door that I become aware of Elena standing behind me. Needless to say, I'm really glad I decided to wear a pair of sweats after all.

I try not to flinch but my good mood is rapidly sinking. Elena being here does not bode well. I sigh. "Morning."

"Good morning, Tyler. I'm sorry for barging in like this but I'd like to speak to Jeremy. Is he here?"

I consider lying for a second. I could always just deny it and pretend a little while longer. Then again, just one look at my current state and it's obvious for anyone with eyes that even with no visible love bites or marks in sight, I look truly and deeply well-fucked. I could also just throw her out and banish her from my house but still, I can only delay the inevitable for so long. The good mood is gone and I can't compel it back. The real world has caught up with us again.

"He's upstairs, sleeping," I admit and despite already knowing the outcome, can't help but add anyway, "if it's nothing urgent, you could just leave him a message and I'll tell him you stopped by." I try to appeal to Elena's understanding nature. "He's really tired."

"I'm sorry, Tyler," Elena says, shaking her head, the look in her eyes somber as ever. "But I really need to talk to him."

I'm out of options here and yet I struggle to come up with something to prevent this. Elena is determined, just standing there all unwavering and looking at me with those dark brown eyes of hers, not unlike Jeremy's, and not taking the hint. 

"Look," I try, my desperation getting the better of me. "Couldn't you let it go just this once? Jeremy's had a rough couple of nights 'cause his last job didn't go so well, and it might—"

"Hey, sis."

I turn around to see Jeremy at the door, leaning casually against the frame, fresh from a shower and wrapped up in a small towel barely covering the essentials. He's standing there shamelessly, like he has no care in the world. For anyone who knows him, though, it's all a performance. He's back to business: the ring is on his finger, the ear stud attached and, even if I can't smell it from this distance, I bet the vervain is already coursing through his system. The greeting to his sister lacks all the love, as usual. I don't know what Elena expected, coming here this early. I resent her for ruining this but it's out of my hands now. I can only stand my ground and watch how it all unravels from here, spreading, unstopped like spilled milk. I just know it won't end well.

"Jeremy," Elena greets back with a few added wrinkles on her forehead. If she wasn't a vampire, all that worrying would surely cause her to age prematurely.

Jeremy saunters into the kitchen right between us to grab the orange juice from the fridge, radiating confidence but closed off as ever. He takes a big swig straight from the carton, working his throat, and though it's all for a show, it never fails to attract me. Still, despite the usual influence Jeremy has on me, I can't shake off the cold and tight feeling from my chest. 

Jeremy puts the carton down on the counter, wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and turns his back on me to face his sister. "What is it you want?"

The harsh tone makes Elena flinch. She extends her hand as if to reach out for Jeremy but comes to her senses the last moment. She clearly sees the look on Jeremy's face, preventing any of that from happening. "It's just that we heard some rumors and got worried about you."

"Who's 'we?'"

Elena can't face this closed-off version of Jeremy and she turns her head aside to examine the kitchen island and the motley crew of breakfast ingredients for the pancakes that will never be made now. "Alaric and me," she says, then admits, "but mostly me." 

"Well," Jeremy says without a hint of warmth in his voice, "the last time I checked, Alaric wasn't my dad."

Elena draws in a breath to say something but Jeremy steamrolls her. "And you most certainly ain't my mom."

"Jer, please," Elena pleads. "We don't have to do this."

"Oh yeah? How should we do it then?"

Elena sighs. "Why can't you see we are just worried about you?"

"And why can't you see that you don't need to? I'm a big boy now. I can handle it on my own just fine."

Jeremy doesn't convince Elena who's still looking at him, worried as ever. 

"Just fine? Really? And what was the last job then? You nearly got yourself killed."

"And so? What of it? It's my business if I get killed or not. I don't need you to babysit me!" Jeremy all but shouts. He's starting to get genuinely pissed off and I know better than to interfere. So, it's one of life's mysteries why I decide to give my two cents on the matter. 

"She's your sister, Jer. She only means well."

Jeremy turns around in an angry flash, slapping his hand against my chest harder than expected, nearly managing to move me. "Stay the fuck out of this, Lockwood," he barks and turns back to Elena. "And she's not a sister. A cousin at best."

It's unusually cruel even for Jeremy. It's like he'd slapped Elena, the way she visibly recoils and briefly hugs herself. I feel like grasping Jeremy by the scruff and giving him a thorough shake to force even some minimum amount of manners into him but it would be useless when he's like this. The only thing now is just to wait it out, give him space and let him cool down by himself. It's something I've learned the hard way. Clearly, so has Elena.

"I see I shouldn't have come. It's no use talking to you when you're like this. We'll talk when you're back to being yourself again."

Even I wince at that. Blaming it on Jeremy's mood will only make it worse. As if to prove my point, Jeremy loses it. "When I'm like this, huh? Well whose fault is it I'm like this? You can blame it on your bloody fucking vampire paramours. You should all be put down like the monsters you are. Just get the fuck out before I start with you!"

Elena is already gone from the house and I am left alone to face Jeremy's wrath. His breathing is erratic and the flush on his cheeks is not the sexy kind. I try to save what little I can from this nightmare of a situation and placate him, showing my empty hands as a lame peace offering. 

"Just calm down, will you? I'm not your enemy and neither is Elena. You may not like what she has to say but you can't blame her for caring about you. We all do." I have no idea if anything I'm saying is getting through to him but I have to try regardless. "Can't we just sit down and eat breakfast? I'll make pancakes like I promised."

Jeremy is watching me, chest still heaving, but clearly calming down a bit. I can see him distancing himself from all of this as we stand there only a few inches apart but what might as well be miles between us, the way he feels so unreachable to me. The look in Jeremy's eyes is cold and impersonal. He smiles with that condescending way of his that's all business and no emotion and shakes his head. 

"You eat, I'm not hungry. I better go get dressed and just grab something later from the diner. I need to be on my way anyway, vamps to kill and all that jazz. You know how it goes." He gives a slight nod and adds, "Thanks for letting me shack up here for the few nights."

He casts a glance around him, already clearing his mind and gearing up for the next mission and heading back for the road. He turns to go.

I watch his retreating back, feeling alternately hot and cold. The tiny towel doesn't leave anything to the imagination, flashing Jeremy's pert ass with each step, but he's not doing it on purpose, and there's nothing sexy about the impotent desperation he makes me feel. If only I could erase him out of my mind completely, banish his very existence from my memories and settle down with some pretty weregirl and get a family started. Maybe there was a chance for some happiness for me, a more stable life. Far from the constant roller coaster ride with a reluctant and feisty hunter who's most of the time not even in his right mind and only knows how to kill, hurt, and fuck. And, more often than not, some combination of the three simultaneously.

I close my eyes so that I won't have to witness the last image of Jeremy's bare, scarred back bathing in the pale morning light, disappearing from the doorway for good. I press my nails tightly against my palms and fight the overwhelming feeling of coming loss. Maybe there was someone else out there to make me happy but the idea does nothing to stop the gnawing fear of the possibility of never seeing Jeremy again. The thought of not having Jeremy in my life makes me feel numb to the bone. 

I can't have anyone else. I don't want anyone else. The prickly, wacky, and dangerous vampire hunter is all I want and I refuse to let him go without a fight. The realization hits me hard, leaving me momentarily breathless. I open my eyes and run after Jeremy. I catch him before he's even halfway across the foyer, seize hold of his arm and turn him around roughly, feeling way too raw to aim for gentle.

"Jeremy, wait!"

Jeremy looks irritated but not surprised. He wrenches his arm loose from my grip but stands his ground. He's not turning away but he's not exactly keen to hear me out either. The way he's regarding me is cold and distant like he was looking at a stranger. An annoying one at that. 

"Look," I plead, hoping my voice doesn't crack. Show weakness now and lose Jeremy forever. "You're not in a hurry. You said so yourself last night, remember? Why can't we just spend the morning like we planned? You'll need to eat eventually anyway, so you might as well grab a bite here. Go get dressed and I'll make the pancakes. Or I could see if there's any eggs and make an omelet or something." I'm babbling but I can't make myself stop. "Or if you're not that hungry, we could always just go back to bed."

Jeremy looks at me unmoved and with no hint whatsoever of changing his mind. As if to prove that thought, he crosses his arms in front of his naked chest and sneers. 

"Eat brekkie and let you convince me to postpone my mission? Nice try, Lockwood, but this stay has already reached its zenith and I need to be elsewhere. I've had enough of you damn supes for the day. Hell, more like for the whole year. I'm done with the likes of you thinking you can change me." 

He turns to leave and it's an instinct I can't help. I grab him again, not letting him go, not like this. The second my hand touches Jeremy's shoulder, he spins around and shoves me against the wall, getting right in my face, teeth bared. 

"Hands off, Lockwood! Get the fuck out of my way and let me go before I make you."

I do the only thing I can possibly think of to salvage the situation and tackle him back, kissing him roughly. I cover the back of his head with one hand and hold his back with the other to protect him from the impact, the sheer force of my attack hurling us against the opposite wall. This is the one thing that never fails to work when Jeremy is like this. The only thing that always helps to quiet the demons in his head long enough for him to start listening to some sense again. But Elena's surprise visit must have broken something in him because no matter how ardently I try to pour all my frustration and unrequited feelings into the kiss, Jeremy remains unresponsive. He's not even struggling against me, he just weathers it all. Finally, I have no other option but to reluctantly let go of him. Jeremy's usually pink lips look dark red and ravished and his beautiful brown eyes are nearly black, like storm clouds during an outbreak of thunder. 

"Are we done here?" Jeremy's voice is pure ice, spreading the inevitable cold to my limbs. I'm not above begging but I can see it would have no effect on him whatsoever. All I can do is watch him turn his back to me and start to move towards the staircase to go pack his few belongings upstairs and return to the self-sufficient nomadic life he never truly left behind, despite having shared a bed with me. My throat feels tight and I'm desperately grasping at straws here, anything to make him stay a little while longer. And just when I'm about to abandon hope and lose myself in the deep, dark void, it comes to me.

"So," I manage to rasp, "Jeremy Gilbert, you're gonna break your promise just like that, huh?"

Jeremy stops in his tracks one hand on the railing, tense, his back still to me but he turns his head slightly despite himself. 

"Promise?" Slowly, he fully turns back to look at me, angry and the last of his control about to slip away. "And what promise would that be? If you think even for a second that I promised this is more than what it is, you—"

I won't give him a chance to continue that thought now that I finally got through to him with this one tiny thing to stall the inevitable. "You promised to suck me off if I let you fuck me first."

Jeremy just stares at me and I get some of my confidence back. It's like finally finding some solid ground after teetering on the edge of a precipice for so long. 

"So, the way I see it, you still owe me a blowjob, Gilbert."

For a few seconds Jeremy keeps standing there, staring at me without a word. Then he moves his stance, relaxing a fraction and his expression morphs into a more familiar one. It's still the mask reserved for strangers but less tense and coiled up.

"A blowjob you say? That's true. I did promise to suck you off." He cocks his head to the side and his look gets more calculating. "That can be easily fixed. Far be it from me to break my promise and leave a guy hanging high and dry."

Jeremy walks back towards me and I don't really know what to do with myself. We've done it all: angry sex, all-consuming passionate sex, drowsy sex in bed, against the wall, on the table and every single surface in this house, but nothing like this. I couldn't feel less aroused even if I tried and I can't recognize this version of Jeremy. I have no idea what he's thinking right now. I take a breath and open my mouth to say we should forget this but the words don't come. Jeremy, however, has no such trouble. He stops right in front of me and rips off his tiny towel, looking me straight in the eye and leaving me utterly defenseless. Though he's the one standing there stark naked, I'm the one feeling bare to the bone. 

"Take the sweats off."

I should be proud my hands are not visibly shaking but it doesn't fool Jeremy for a second. I remove the sweats and throw them aside, standing there all soft. In any other situation, having Jeremy there, close enough to smell and hear his heartbeat, all naked and hot the way only he knows how to be without even trying and with the promise of sex to come would have me at half-mast at least. But here I am, my werepenis, like Jeremy sometimes jokingly calls it, soft and uncooperative, my throat tight and eyes burning. I can't even look at him. 

None of this deters Jeremy, though. He drops on his knees and touches me, gripping the root tightly as he gives a few pulls and without a warning, swallows my cock into his hot, hot mouth. And that's the thing, whatever power Jeremy has over me, it works yet again, just as flawlessly as always. His hot, tight mouth is the only oblivion I yearn for. If I lived a thousand lives and had lovers all across the universe, I could never forget this. There's no one like him, no one who does it like him. With the same wholehearted abandon, losing himself completely into it every single time. He gets me fully hard without breaking a sweat, it's not even a challenge. My legs tremble as he sucks me, clearly determined not to waste time but to get this over and done with. I struggle, trying not to grasp at his hair, groping at the wall behind me, trying to find something to hold onto. 

Jeremy is not holding back at all, he's sucking me off like his life depends on it. I realize this will be over very soon; it's like he's trying for a new record. He'll probably succeed in it, too. He adds his other hand to the mix to fondle my balls all the while slurping me down, cheeks hollowed. He starts pulling at my dick with his fist, retreating to lick and suckle the head, and when he rounds the tender spot right below it with his tongue, I can't help but moan and my hands gravitate involuntarily to clutch his hair, almost tearing him fully off of my angry, leaking cock. 

Jeremy looks up at me with half-lidded eyes, lost in his all-consuming lust, and it's so familiar to me it hurts. I give a tiny nudge and he opens his mouth to take me back in, encouraging me to take charge and fuck his mouth. I cradle his head in my hands and do just that, pushing nearly all the way in and pulling nearly all the way out again and again. Jeremy releases my balls, relinquishing the control entirely to me and just holds lightly onto my thigh with one hand while starting to jerk off his own neglected cock with the other. 

I wish I could fuck Jeremy's indifference and cruel ways out of him just by sinking my cock deep enough into his mouth. It's too bad it doesn't work that way. There's not a single part of me that's able to prolong this. I feel my orgasm approaching, inevitable and merciless, but I manage to get a few more vicious thrusts in before it all crashes over me like a tidal wave, washing me away in its wake. 

After a while, I start once more to become aware of my surroundings and I open my eyes, seeing the foyer in a blur. I blink the wetness away and zero in on the sight in front of me: Jeremy on his knees, his plump, abused lips still half open even though my softening cock has already slipped out of them. He's covered in his own spunk, looking back at me with more calm than I've seen since the incident in the kitchen. 

I have to let go of his head but it takes a few tries since my fingers are not working properly. His hair looks wild, wet from the shower and the fresh sweat, standing out in big chunks from where my fingers were pulling at it only a few seconds ago. All I can do is stare back at him, utterly spent and feeling empty. I've lost the fight and I try to accept the fact that this is probably the last time I will see him. 

Jeremy stands up, swaying closer to me than before. He lifts his hand to wipe something from my cheek and I don't care if it's tears. I'm too tired of fighting and I hurt all over. I realize it will only get worse from now, the loss more real once Jeremy is gone for good. 

Jeremy takes my face between his hands and carefully tilts my head to kiss me. I taste my own seed in his mouth and for a while I kiss him back. I can't help it, my body is wired to respond to his touch, to go along with what he gives or takes. Then it comes to me, the way he's almost gentle with me and we're never gentle, not really. This must be a goodbye kiss and I nearly choke. I break away from it, pushing Jeremy roughly away from me. The tears are flowing freely now but I'd know my way in my own home even with my eyes closed so I only stop to pick up my discarded sweats and escape to the kitchen. I won't turn around, I can't look at Jeremy again.

*

After a while, Jeremy returns downstairs, dropping his duffle bag to the floor with a heavy thud that I can feel reverberate in my chest. It's almost like an afterthought; he could have left by now but for some reason he chose to come by the kitchen to see me. I grind my teeth but keep my back to him on purpose, not giving him the satisfaction. I'm making myself a sandwich, just to have something to do.

"So, looks like we'll need a rain check with those pancakes."

I worry the bread will crumble in my grip but I succeed in cutting a slice without losing any fingers. I have zero appetite right now, there's only the coppery tang of blood in my mouth, probably my own, and the vague scent of vervain filling my nostrils as if to taunt me and my silly dreams of a future with him.

"Yeah," I manage with a dry throat while swallowing back all my bitter words. They would be useless now anyway. "So it would seem."

"Well," Jeremy drawls, "the pleasure's been all mine. My job might keep me busy for a good while, so I can't say when I'll be back."

The 'if I'll be back' is left unsaid but I can hear it clear as a day in his voice. It's for all the danger and risks his hunter's work brings but just as much to drive in the fact that we aren't really anything to each other. No promises made, no promises broken, right? I take a few deep breaths to keep my control in check for just a little while longer so as not to burn all the bridges by exploding at him and yelling all those hurtful things that I most definitely mean.

There's a small rustle behind me when Jeremy hefts his bag up from the floor and turns to go. My heart is racing and my throat feels so terribly tight I can't get any breath. My claws break out and scratch the polished surface of the kitchen island and I know my eyes are going haywire, the inhuman yellow, red, and black flashing behind my eyelids.

So it takes me completely by surprise when Jeremy stops at the door and says, "The place where I'm headed, I'm going against some unusually powerful vamps. And I mean powerful, even for me. So, I was thinking I could use a hand with the next few missions."

I open my eyes and stare at the window on the opposite wall without really seeing anything beyond the dull curtains. Hope can be a dangerous thing. Yet, despite my better judgment, I open my mouth to ask, "Oh yeah?"

I turn around as if hardwired, forever bound to him, and see Jeremy standing there on the doorstep, one foot in my kitchen, one foot in the hallway, partly lit by the warm sunlight. If he asked me at this very moment to surrender to him and to be his little bitch for the rest of the eternity, I'd probably say yes in a heartbeat. 

"Yeah," Jeremy confirms, and for the first time today since I left him upstairs in the bedroom he seems less angry, like the worst of his rage has passed and he's back to being almost civil. He flashes a smile which is still a fake one but I'll gladly choose the brittle peace offering over the war zone we can't ever seem to completely shake off. "I mean, unless you have more important things on your plate right now."

I swallow. Merely looking at him hurts, but if anything I'm a headstrong, all-in kind of guy, and I choose to see this through to its bitter end. Maybe I am his little bitch anyway.

"Okay?" I say and concentrate on keeping my fingers relaxed and open.

"Okay," Jeremy says with something tentative in his voice.

I'm helpless to prevent the smile spreading on my face, suddenly feeling lighter than air. 

"Okay."

FIN


End file.
